Egg laying in Aplysia. II. Organization of central and peripheral pathways for initiating neurosecretory activity and...

1. Central pathways for bag cell activation were identified by examining the frequency of spontaneous egg laying episodes in animals with central connective lesions. Bilateral lesions of the cerebropleural (but not the cerebropedal) connectives abolished spontaneous egg laying. In contrast, bilateral lesions of all cerebral ganglion peripheral nerves did not abolish spontaneous egg laying, suggesting that sensory input to the cerebral ganglion is not necessary for activating the bag cells. 2. Backfilling either pleuroabdominal connective labelled cell bodies in the cerebral ganglia (via the ipsilateral cerebropleural connective) that could project to the bag cells. Focal extracellular stimulation of these stained clusters activated the bag cells in isolated brains. 3. Central pathways for initiating egg laying behaviors were identified by selectively eliciting bag cell discharges in animals with central connective lesions. Bilateral lesions of the cerebropedal (but not the cerebropleural) connectives completely abolished elicited egg laying behaviors. 4. Pathways for motor output during rhythmic head and neck movements were identified by eliciting bag cell discharges in animals with peripheral nerve lesions. Bilateral lesions of the four tegumentary nerves in combination with the anterior pedal nerve completely abolished elicited egg laying behaviors, indicating that these nerves are necessary for normal motor output. A normal pattern of egg laying behaviors occurred when the four tegumentary and the anterior pedal nerves were left intact and all other pedal ganglion nerves were lesioned bilaterally, indicating that these nerves are also sufficient for normal motor output.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)