Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

Fabrication and Implantation of Miniature Dual-element Strain Gages for Measuring In Vivo Gastrointestinal Contractions in Rodents.
Published on: September 18, 2014
Temperature sensitivity of the pyloric neuromuscular system and its modulation by dopamine
Jeffrey B Thuma1, Kevin H Hobbs, Helaine J Burstein
1Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, United States of America. thuma@ohio.edu
Abstract:
We report here the effects of temperature on the p1 neuromuscular system of the stomatogastric system of the lobster (Panulirus interruptus). Muscle force generation, in response to both the spontaneously rhythmic in vitro pyloric network neural activity and direct, controlled motor nerve stimulation, dramatically decreased as temperature increased, sufficiently that stomach movements would very unlikely be maintained at warm temperatures. However, animals fed in warm tanks showed statistically identical food digestion to those in cold tanks. Applying dopamine, a circulating hormone in crustacea, increased muscle force production at all temperatures and abolished neuromuscular system temperature dependence. Modulation may thus exist not only to increase the diversity of produced behaviors, but also to maintain individual behaviors when environmental conditions (such as temperature) vary.
Related Concept Videos
Neural Regulation
Drugs Affecting GI Tract Motility: Dopamine Receptor Antagonists
Enteric Nervous System: Regulation of GI Motor Activity
During periods of fasting, the ENS initiates the migrating myoelectric complex, a program...
Hormonal Regulation
Regulation of the Digestive System
The effectors in this regulation system are glands and smooth muscles. Activation of these...
Regulation of Food Intake

