Bath application of dopamine (DA) modifies the rhythmic motor pattern generated by the pyloric network in the stomatogastric ganglion of the spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus. Synaptic transmission between network members is an important target of DA action. All pyloric neurons employ both graded transmitter release and action-potential-mediated synaptic inhibition. DA was previously shown t...

Specificity in the actions of different modulatory neurons is often attributed to their having distinct cotransmitter complements. We are assessing the validity of this hypothesis with the stomatogastric nervous system of the crab Cancer borealis. In this nervous system, the stomatogastric ganglion (STG) contains a multifunctional network that generates the gastric mill and pyloric rhythms. Two...

Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis is uncommon in premature babies. In term infants, the typical presentations include a palpable mass over the epigastric area, exaggerated gastric peristalsis after feeding and projectile non-bilious vomiting. However these symptoms are not commonly seen in premature infants. The onset of symptoms in pyloric stenosis in premature infants is later than that in term i...

Pyloric duodenal stenosis is usually caused by pyloric, juxtapyloric or duodenal ulcer, or by postbulbar ulcer. Gallbladder cancer (GBC), duodenal diverticula, annular pancreas and superior mesenteric artery syndrome (Wilkie's syndrome) are rare causes of pyloric duodenal stenosis. The case of a 66-year-old female patient is presented. The patient was admitted to hospital presenting anorexia, r...

In the rhythmically active pyloric circuit of the spiny lobster, the pyloric dilator (PD) neurons are members of the pacemaker group of neurons that make inhibitory synapses onto the follower lateral pyloric (LP) neuron. The LP neuron, in turn, makes a depressing inhibitory synapse to the PD neurons, providing the sole inhibitory feedback from the pyloric network to its pacemakers. This study i...

Short-term dynamics such as facilitation and depression are present in most synapses and are often target-specific even for synapses from the same type of neuron. We examine the dynamics and possible functions of two synapses from the same presynaptic neuron in the rhythmically active pyloric network of the spiny lobster. Using simultaneous recordings, we show that the synapses from the lateral...

The modulation of the pyloric rhythm of the stomatogastric ganglion of the crab, Cancer borealis, by crustacean cardioactive peptide (CCAP) is described. CCAP activated pyloric rhythms in most silent preparations, and altered the phase relationships of pyloric motor neuron firing in all preparations. In CCAP, the pyloric rhythms were characterized by long lateral pyloric (LP) neuron bursts of a...

The pyloric network of the lobster stomatogastric ganglion is a prime example of an oscillatory neural circuit. In our previous study on the firing patterns of pyloric neurons we observed characteristic temporal structures termed 'interspike interval (ISI) signatures' which were found to depend on the synaptic connectivity of the network. Dopamine, a well-known modulator of the pyloric network,...

Bacteria associated with the digestive tract of multicellular organisms have been shown to play a major role in their hosts' functioning. In fish, it has been proposed that food fermentation occurs inside the pyloric ceca, pouch like organs found in their digestive tract. However, this notion remains controversial. Furthermore, changes in pyloric cecal bacterial populations under different diet...

BACKGROUND/AIM A gastric conduit is usually used to reconstruct the foregut after esophagectomy for cancer. The gastric emptying may be impaired after this operation, so some esophageal surgeons routinely add a pyloric drainage procedure (pyloroplasty or pyloromyotomy). We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the effect of pyloric drainage on patient out...