C-PR Neuron of Aplysia Has Differential Effects on “Feeding” Cerebral Interneurons, Including Myomodulin-Positive CBI-12

C-PR neuron of Aplysia has differential effects on “feeding” cerebral interneurons, including myomodulin-positive CBI-12. Head lifting and other aspects of the appetitive central motive state that precedes consummatory feeding movements inAplysia is promoted by excitation of the C-PR neuron. Food stimuli activate C-PR as well as a small population of cerebral-buccal interneurons (CBIs). We wished to determine if firing of C-PR produced differential effects on the various CBIs or perhaps affected all the CBIs uniformly as might be expected for a neuron involved in producing a broad undifferentiated arousal state. We found that when C-PR was fired, it produced a wide variety of effects on various CBIs. Firing of C-PR evoked excitatory input to a newly identified CBI (CBI-12) the soma of which is located in the M cluster near the previously identified CBI-2. CBI-12 shares certain properties with CBI-2, including a similar morphology and a capacity to drive rhythmic activity of the buccal-ganglion. Unlike CBI...