Meeting Abstract

P1.56  Friday, Jan. 4  Molecular Characterization of the Octopus Visual System PUNGOR, J/R*; ALBERTIN, C/B; KANG, S; RAGSDALE, C/W; Stanford University; University of Chicago; University of Chicago; University of Chicago jpungor@stanford.edu

Cephalopods are highly visual animals; they use extensive visual cues in many aspects of their lives, from predator avoidance and prey capture to mating and aggression displays. Cephalopods, like vertebrates, possess a single chamber eye with a lens that focuses onto a retina densely packed with photoreceptors. The visual systems of cephalopods, although evolved to deal with the same challenges as teleosts face, show dramatic anatomical and processing differences from those of their vertebrate counterparts. While a great deal of research has focused on the organization of vertebrate visual systems, little is known about visual processing in cephalopods. For example, neurochemical measurements have documented the presence of a number of different neurotransmitters in the octopus visual system, but study of their localization on the cellular level in the retina or optic lobes has been very limited. Without specific knowledge of the anatomical distributions of these neurotransmitter systems, it is impossible to understand their roles in cephalopod visual processing. In situ hybridizaton (ISH) techniques provide the resolution needed to begin to address these questions. Our aim is to develop ISH protocols appropriate for an emerging model organism in cephalopod neurobiology, Octopus bimaculoides. Here we will discuss the methods and findings emerging from this work.