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Mapping motor neuron activity to overt behavior in the leech

I. Passive biomechanical properties of the body wall

  • Original Paper
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Abstract

As an initial step in constructing a quantitative biomechanical model of the medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis), we determined the passive properties of its body wall over the physiological range of dimensions. The major results of this study were:

  1. 1.

    The ellipsoidal cross section of resting leeches is maintained by tonic muscle activation as well as forces inherent in the structure of the body wall (i.e., residual stress).

  2. 2.

    The forces required for longitudinal and circumferential stretch to maximum physiological dimensions were similar in magnitude. Cutting out pieces of body wall did not affect the passive longitudinal or circumferential properties of body wall away from the edges of the cut.

  3. 3.

    The strain (i.e., the percentage change in dimension) of different body segments when subject to the same force was identical, despite differences in muscle crosssections.

  4. 4.

    Serotonin, a known modulator of tension in leech muscles, affected passive forces at all physiological muscle lengths. This suggests that the longitudinal muscle is responsible for at least part of the passive tension of the body wall.

  5. 5.

    We propose a simple viscoelastic model of the body wall. This model captures the dynamics of the passive responses of the leech body wall to imposed step changes in length. Using steady-state passive tensions predicted by the viscoelastic model we estimate the forces required to maintain the leech at any given length over the physiological range.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology 0357, University of California, 92093-0357, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    R. J. A. Wilson, J. K. Meyer & W. B. Kristan Jr.

  2. Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of California, 92093, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    B. A. Skierczynski & R. Skalak

Authors
  1. R. J. A. Wilson
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  2. B. A. Skierczynski
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  3. J. K. Meyer
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  4. R. Skalak
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  5. W. B. Kristan Jr.
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Wilson, R.J.A., Skierczynski, B.A., Meyer, J.K. et al. Mapping motor neuron activity to overt behavior in the leech. J Comp Physiol A 178, 637–654 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00227377

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00227377

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