Meeting Abstract 62.1  Thursday, Jan. 6  The control potential of power muscles in a flying insect SPONBERG, S*; FECHKO, AS; DANIEL, TL; Univ. of Washington; Univ. of Washington; Univ. of Washington bergs@uw.edu Control of flight is often attributed to neural feedback to specific steering muscles modulating the steady-state wingstrokes generated by large, power muscles whose commands are […]

Meeting Abstract 62.6  Thursday, Jan. 6  Sandfish model predicts muscle activation pattern during subsurface sand diving STEINMETZ, S.M.*; DING, Y.; GOLDMAN, D.I.; Georgia Institute of Technology; Georgia Institute of Technology; Georgia Institute of Technology ssteinmetz3@gatech.edu Desert dwelling animals like the sandfish lizard (Scincus scincus) dive into and move within surrounding sand to escape heat and predators. The […]

Meeting Abstract 62.4  Thursday, Jan. 6  Motoneurons, muscles and movement: Neural control of the pectoral fins during slow and fast swimming. GREEN, M.G.*; HALE, M.E.; Univ. Chicago; Univ. Chicago mhgreen@uchicago.edu Fishes actuate their pectoral fins for a variety of purposes, from powering forward swimming to sensing the environment. Rhythmic pectoral fin swimming is a common gait at […]

Meeting Abstract 62.2  Thursday, Jan. 6  Iterative connections reveal functional segments in Caenorhabditis elegans locomotion network HASPEL, G*; O’DONOVAN, MJ; NINDS; NINDS haspelg@ninds.nih.gov 75 motorneurons of 8 classes innervate the body musculature that propels C. elegans. These motorneurons receive input mostly from 5 pairs of interneurons and are synaptically interconnected to create a motorneuronal network. To date, […]

Meeting Abstract 62.3  Thursday, Jan. 6  In vitro Control of Muscle Actuators to Understand Animal Movement RAMOS, C.D.; LIM, C.K.; AHN, A.N.*; Harvey Mudd College; Harvey Mudd College; Harvey Mudd College aahn@hmc.edu Investigating the neural control of a muscle-limb system is essential to understanding how animals move. Although the relationship between stimulation input and force output has […]

Meeting Abstract 62.5  Thursday, Jan. 6  Characterization of Brain Neurons Involved in Spontaneously Initiated Walking in Crayfish KAGAYA, Katsushi*; TAKAHATA, Masakazu; Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan; Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan kagaya@sci.hokudai.ac.jp Animals initiate behavior not only reflexively in response to external stimuli but also spontaneously depending on their internal state. How are the brain neurons recruited […]

Meeting Abstract 61.4  Thursday, Jan. 6  The neuromuscular bases of vocalization in X. borealis and X. boumbaensis: insights into the evolution of simple advertisement call patterns in Xenopus LEININGER, E.C.*; KELLEY, D.B.; Columbia University; Columbia University ecl2107@columbia.edu Comparative examinations of the neuromuscular mechanisms responsible for generating behavior can lead to insights regarding the evolution of behavioral phenotypes. […]

Meeting Abstract 61.5  Thursday, Jan. 6  Song Perception in Female Songbirds: How do They Avoid Errors in Song Discrimination? LYNCH, K.S.*; BALL, G.F.; Johns Hopkins University lynchks@mail.utexas.edu The decision to mate and with whom to mate is one of the most consequential decisions a female is faced with in her lifetime. Thus, they must possess a suite […]

Meeting Abstract 61.2  Thursday, Jan. 6  Electrophysiology of the snake retina KOHL, T.; YOUNG, B.A.*; Univ. of Bonn; Univ. of Massachusetts Lowell Bruce_Young@uml.edu Few previous studies have explored the snake’s eye from a functional perspective. We recorded electroretinograms (ERGs) from a number of snake species chosen following considerations of phylogeny, habitat, and temporal activity patterns. For each […]

Meeting Abstract 61.3  Thursday, Jan. 6  Downstream Regulation Of Melatonin Receptor in a Forebrain Vocal Control Nucleus TUCKER, S.A*; BENTLEY, G.E.; University of California, Berkeley; University of California, Berkeley shantuck88@gmail.com In songbirds such as canaries and house sparrows (Passer domesticus ) adult neuroplasticity occurs in several forebrain areas that are involved in song learning and production. This […]