A quick train of diffuse nerve-net (DNN) impulses is required to initiate a patterned flurry of strong contractions, the ‘spasm,’ of the striated muscles of the rhizostome scyphomedusan Cassiopea xamachana. A number of spasms are illustrated. Using this response as a tool, the connectivity of the DNN has been established. The occurrence and variability of the spasm is illustrated with an analysis of their occurrence in a typical, extended experiment. It is proposed that the spasm is an integral and essential component of the behavior of scyphomedusae, and that its control by the DNN exemplifies how complex behavior is generated.
Key words: sub-umbrellar muscles, spasm behavior, diffuse nerve-net, Cassiopea
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© 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Passano, L.M. (2004). Spasm behavior and the diffuse nerve-net in Cassiopea xamachana (Scyphozoa: Coelenterata). In: Fautin, D.G., Westfall, J.A., Cartwrigh, P., Daly, M., Wyttenbach, C.R. (eds) Coelenterate Biology 2003. Developments in Hydrobiology, vol 178. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2762-8_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-2762-8_11
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