A classic model animal in the 21st century: recent lessons from the leech nervous system

The medicinal leech (genus Hirudo) is a classic model animal in systems neuroscience. The leech has been central to many integrative studies that establish how properties of neurons and their interconnections give rise to the functioning of the animal at the behavioral level. Leeches exhibit several discrete behaviors (such as crawling, swimming and feeding) that are each relatively simple. Importantly, these behaviors can all be studied - at least at a basal level - in the isolated nervous system. The leech nervous system is particularly amenable to such studies because of its distributed nature; sensory processing and generation of behavior occur to a large degree in iterated segmental ganglia that each contain only ∼400 neurons. Furthermore, the neurons are relatively large and are arranged with stereotyped topography on the surface of the ganglion, which greatly facilitates their identification and accessibility. This Commentary provides an overview of recent work on the leech nervous system, with particular focus on circuits that underlie leech behavior. Studies that combine the unique features of the leech with modern optical and genetic techniques are also discussed. Thus, this Commentary aims to explain the continued appeal of the leech as an experimental animal in the 21st century.