Chemosensory stimulation of the oral cavity of the snail Helisoma

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Abstract
Food extracts, perfused through the oral cavity of the snail Helisoma trivolvis, lead to synaptic activation of identified buccal ganglia motor neurons. Both retractor and protractor motor neurons displayed cyclic bursts of firing characteristic of that observed during expression of the central feeding motorprogram (CFM). The possibility that leakage of food extracts from the oral cavity had a pharmacological effect on buccal neurons was considered. Direct application of the extracts to the exposed ganglionic surface did not evoke similar neuronal activity. Oral perfusion with a behaviorally aversive compound inhibited both the activity evoked by acceptable taste solutions and “spontaneously” generated activity in some preparations. It is concluded that oral chemosensory receptors in the snail exert both an excitatory and inhibitory influence on buccal motor neurons. The significance of these results for cellular neurophysiological investigation of the synaptic events underlying the central processing of afferent chemosensory information is discussed.

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