Photoreceptor specialization and the visuomotor repertoire of the primitive chordate Ciona.

ABSTRACT: The swimming tadpole larva of Ciona has one of the simplest central nervous systems (CNSs) known, with only 177 neurons. Despite its simplicity, the Ciona CNS has a common structure with the CNS of its close chordate relatives, the vertebrates. The recent completion of a larval Ciona CNS connectome creates enormous potential for detailed understanding of chordate CNS function, yet our understanding of Ciona larval behavior is incomplete. We show here that Ciona larvae have a surprisingly rich and dynamic set of visual responses, including a looming-object escape behavior characterized by erratic circular swims, as well as negative phototaxis characterized by sustained directional swims. Making use of mutant lines, we show that these two behaviors are medi

SUBMITTER: Salas P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5963834 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature