Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 14, 2026
Intracellular Recording, Sensory Field Mapping, and Culturing Identified Neurons in the Leech, Hirudo medicinalis
Published on: November 4, 2013
Serotonin delays habituation of leech swim response to touch
Bilal A Alkatout1, Nicole M Marvin, Kevin M Crisp
1Biology Department and Neuroscience Program, Saint Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Ave., Northfield, MN 55057, USA.
Abstract:
Serotonin, acting through a cAMP-signaling pathway, delayed habituation to criterion of the leech's swim response to touch. This delay was reversed by crushing the connective between serotonin-exposed and serotonin-naive ganglia, and correlated with an increase in spontaneous impulse activity in this connective. We suggest that increased activity in intersegmental interneurons may play a role in maintaining swim responsiveness when concentrations of serotonin are elevated.
