Skin impulse excitation of spinal sensory neurons in developing Xenopus laevis (Daudin) tadpoles.

Nitrogen excretion in the tadpoles of Xenopus laevis Daudin.

JAK‐STAT pathway activation in response to spinal cord injury in regenerative and non‐regenerative stages of Xenopus laevis

Xenopus laevis tadpoles can regenerate the spinal cord after injury but this capability is lost during metamorphosis. Comparative studies between pre-metamorphic and metamorphic Xenopus stages can aid towards understanding the molecular mechanisms of spinal cord regeneration. Analysis of a previous transcriptome-wide study suggests that, in response to injury, the JAK-STAT pathway is differenti...

Sensory activation and role of inhibitory reticulospinal neurons that stop swimming in hatchling frog tadpoles.

Activity in neuronal networks underlying locomotion and other rhythmic actions can start and stop in response to specific sensory stimuli. In vertebrate locomotion, some reticulospinal neurons such as Mauthner neurons can initiate activity, but the neurons controlling stopping are not defined. We have studied swimming in tadpoles of the frog, Xenopus, which is started by touching the skin and s...

The Structure of Myelin Sheaths in the Central Nervous System of Xenopus laevis (Daudin)

The structure of myelinated nerve fibres has been studied in the spinal cord and optic nerve of the tadpoles of Xenopus laevis. Potassium permanganate-fixed material was examined with the electron microscope. The myelin sheath itself is made up of spirally arranged lamellae in which the intraperiod and dense lines alternate. Inside the myelin sheath an inner cytoplasmic process surrounds the ax...

Nitric oxide modulation of the electrically excitable skin of Xenopus laevis frog tadpoles.

Nitric oxide (NO) is a highly diffusible signalling molecule with widespread effects on the integrative electrical properties of a variety of neuronal and muscle cells. We have explored the effects of NO on the cardiac-like impulse generated by skin cells of the hatchling Xenopus tadpole. Skin cell impulses propagate from cell to cell via gap junctions and form an unusual sensory system, which ...