Neuroendocrine cells of Aplysia brasiliana. I. Bag cell action potentials and afterdischarge

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Abstract
The bag cells in the abdominal ganglion of A. brasiliana were studied with simultaneous intra- and extracellular recording. Compound spikes from the bag cell neurites can be distinguished from the spikes of other axons in the connectives because of their large amplitude, their slow conduction velocity, and particularly, their long duration. Stimulus trains to the distal end of the connective (beyond the bag cell processes) or directly to the cluster of bag cell somata triggered an afterdischarge of bag cell spikes which were usually conducted distal-to-proximal along the ipsilateral connective toward the bag cell somata. Bag cell spikes occasionally propagated back out the ipsilateral connective; maintained conduction of proximal-to-distal spikes was infrequent. Termination of an afterdischarge was often associated with conduction failure in the bag cell neurites. The hypothesis that bag cell synchrony during an afterdischarge arises from electrotonic coupling among the bag cell neurites on the connective, which may be electrically remote from the stomata is supported. Activation and termination of the afterdischarge following a stimulus train may be associated with activity-dependent changes in bag cell excitability that involve the entire bag cell population.

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