Summary
The role of the central nervous system (CNS) in the modulation of heart activity induced by feeding was investigated in the terrestrial slug,Limax maximus. Intact slugs and semi-intact preparations were used to examine the effects of food, non-nutritive bulk, digestive tract distension, and the concentration of hemolymph glucose on the control of heart activity. The heart rate of intact slugs increased following ingestion of food or nonnutritive bulk and in response to injections of glucose. The heart rate of semi-intact preparations increased in response to gradual crop inflation and to perfusion of the heart with a glucose solution for longer than 30 min. The present results indicate that the increase in heart rate observed in intact slugs following a meal is mediated in part by the CNS and in part is a direct response of the heart musculature. The CNS mediates an immediate response to proprioceptive input from stretch of the crop while the heart musculature responds directly to increased hemolymph glucose concentration following ingestion of food.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brobeck JR (1979) Best and Taylor's Physiological basis of medical practice. Tenth ed, Section 3. The Williams and Wilken, Baltimore, pp 235
Csáky TZ, Wilson JE (1956) The fate of 3-C-14CH3-glucose in the rat. Biochem Biophys Acta 22:185–186
Dieringer N, Koester J, Weiss KR (1978) Adaptive changes in heart rate ofAplysia californica. J Comp Physiol 123:11–21
Duval A (1983) Heartbeat and blood pressure in terrestrial slugs. Can J Zool 61:987–992
Gelperin A (1967) Stretch receptors in the foregut of the blowfly. Science 157:208–210
Gelperin A (1971) Abdominal sensory neurons providing negative feedback to the feeding behavior of the blowfly. Z Vergl Physiol 72:17–31
Grega DS (1982) Central and peripheral cardiac regulation in the pulmonate mollusc,Limax maximus. PhD Dissertation, University of Kentucky
Grega DS, Prior DJ (1985) Alterations in cardiac activity in response to dehydration in the terrestrial slug,Limax maximus. J Exp Zool (in press)
Irisawa H (1978) Comparative physiology of the cardiac pacemaker mechanism. Physiol Rev 58:461–498
Krijgsman BJ, Divaris GA (1955) Contractile and pacemaker mechanisms of the heart of molluscs. Biol Rev 30:1–39
MacKay AR, Gelperin A (1972) Pharmacology and reflex responsiveness of the heart of the giant garden slugLimax maximus. Comp Biochem Physiol 43:877–896
Prosser CL (1973) Comparative animal physiology. Saunders, Philadelphia
Reingold SC, Gelperin A (1980) Feeding motor programme inLimax. II. Modulation by sensory inputs in intact animals and isolated central nervous systems. J Exp Biol 85:1–19
Schultz SG, Curran PF (1970) Coupled transport of sodium and organic solutes. Physiol Rev 50:637–718
Sokolove PG, Beiswanger CM, Prior DJ, Gelperin A (1977) A circadian rhythm in the locomotor behaviour of the giant garden slug,Limax maximus. J Exp Biol 66:47–64
Susswein AJ, Kupfermann I (1975a) Bulk as a stimulus for satiation inAplysia. Behav Biol 13:203–209
Susswein AJ, Kupfermann I (1975b) Localization of bulk stimuli underlying satiation inAplysia. J Comp Physiol 101:309–328
Thompson RJ, Bayne BL (1972) Active metabolism associated with feeding in the musselMytilus edulis. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 9:111–124
Walker G (1969) Studies of digestion of the slugAgriolimax reticulatus (Miller). (Mollusca, Pulmonata, Limacidae). PhD Dissertation, University of Wales
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Grega, D.S., Prior, D.J. The effects of feeding on heart activity in the terrestrial slug,Limax maximus: central and peripheral control. J. Comp. Physiol. 156, 539–545 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00613977
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00613977