In this study, we demonstrate neural changes that occurred during operant conditioning of the aerial respiratory behavior of Lymnaea stagnalis. Aerial respiration in Lymnaea occurs at the water interface and is achieved by opening and closing movements of its respiratory orifice, the pneumostome. This behavior is controlled by a central pattern generator (CPG), the neurons of which, as well as ...

Lymnaeids in nature are subjected to temperature fluctuations that may have an influence on the shedding of cercariae. Thus, experimental infections of Lymnaea truncatula by Paramphistomum daubneyi were performed to determine whether a sudden fall in temperature--daily dipping of infected snails into spring water at 14-15 degrees C, or at 6-8 degrees C--followed by its increase at 20 degrees C ...

While learning and memory are related, they are distinct processes each with different forms of expression and underlying molecular mechanisms. An invertebrate model system, Lymnaea stagnalis, is used to study memory formation of a non-declarative memory. We have done so because: (1) We have discovered the neural circuit that mediates an interesting and tractable behaviour; (2) This behaviour c...

The pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis can learn conditioned taste aversion and then consolidate it into long-term memory (LTM). A high-voltage electric shock was used as the unconditioned stimulus, where we have previously used KCl. We varied the strength of both the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli to determine whether the so-called Yerkes-Dodson law prevailed. This is an empirical relationshi...

Mixed results with the synthetic β-adrenergic receptor blocker, propranolol, have been reported in human populations with regards to its therapeutic efficacy for PTSD treatments targeting the memory reconsolidation process. Stress alters the ability to form and maintain memory, but whether the causal neuronal mechanisms underling memory formation in PTSD are similar to normal memory is not clea...

Stress has been shown to both impair and enhance learning, long-term memory (LTM) formation, and/or its recall. The pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis, both detects and responds to the scent of a crayfish predator with multiple stress-related behavioral responses. Using both behavioral and electrophysiological evidence, this investigation is a first attempt to characterize how an environmentally rel...

In the freshwater environment species often rely on chemosensory information to modulate behavior. The pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis, is a model species used to characterize the causal mechanisms of long-term memory (LTM) formation. Chemical stressors including crayfish kairomones and KCl enhance LTM formation (≥24 h) in Lymnaea; however, how these stressors are sensed and the mechanism by whic...

Aerial respiration in the fresh water mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis is controlled by an identified network of central pattern generating neurons (CPG). The CPG underlying central respiratory rhythmogenesis is comprised of three cells: namely RPeD1, VD4 and IP3I. IP3I and VD4 control expiration and inspiration, respectively, whereas RPeD1 initiates respiratory rhythmogenesis. Both in vivo and in vit...

The pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis is an intermediate vector for the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica, a common parasite of ruminants and humans. Yet, despite being a disease of medical and economic importance, as well as a potentially useful comparative tool, the genetics of the relationship between Lymnaea and Fasciola has barely been investigated. As a complement to forthcomingF. hepatica express...