Meeting Abstract

80.2  Sunday, Jan. 6  Role of a Compartmental Arousal System in Subtle Locomotory Speed Changes in a Mollusc SATTERLIE, R. A.; Univ. of North Carolina Wilmington satterlier@uncw.edu

Two types of speed change have been described in the pteropod mollusc Clione limacina; a dramatic change from slow to fast swimming, equivalent to a gait change in higher animals, and a subtle change within the slow swimming mode. The former is triggered by activation of a distributed, serotonergic arousal system. The key feature of this arousal system is a compartmental arrangement, which allows individual components to be activated singly, or in combination with others, so the flexible system can modulate a variety of behaviors. The role of this arousal system in the change from slow to fast swimming has been documented, while details of the more subtle speed change within the slow swimming mode have not yet been documented. Here, a mechanism for subtle speed change is described, which selectively utilizes one “compartment” of the serotonergic arousal system, thus lending further credence to the compartmental nature of this distributed modulatory system.