Patterns of neural and behavioral activity in freely-moving Navanax inermis (Mollusca; Opisthobranchia)

As part of an ongoing neuroethological study of complex behavior in the opisthobranch mollusc, Navanax inermis, I have extended the available gross anatomical descriptions and used cuff electrodes to obtain chronic recordings from whole nerves or connectives. The major anatomical findings concern a) finer branches of the pedal nerves, particularly P3C P4 and P5; b) the distribution of nerves from the abdominal and subintestinal ganglia; and c) a possible neurohaemal area of the supraintestinal ganglion. With cuff electrodes it has been possible to get good quality recordings (often with spikes in the mv range) during the full repertoire of sexual, predatory and cannibalistic behaviors. The high degree of cryptic neural activity and the fact that in Navanax behaviors are not mutually exclusive, make it difficult to identify one-to-one correspondences between behaviors and neural patterns, However, there is an apparent correlation between the activity of a very large unit(s) on P5 and an exploratory behavior, the Face-Down head posture when it is directed at the substrate rather than prey, or a conspecific.