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Evolution of the First Nervous Systems pp 33–53Cite as

Chemical and Electrical Synaptic Transmission in the Cnidaria

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Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((NSSA,volume 188))

Abstract

It was probably in an ancestral cnidarian that the earliest evolutionary experiments in neuro-neuronal and neuro-effector communication were played out. By studying present day cnidarians, we hope we are examining those synaptic mechanisms which were selected for, perhaps as far back as the Pre-Cambrian era, and which have been conserved with only minimal modification. Of course, we cannot be certain that physiological evolution proceeded at the same rate as morphological changes, nevertheless, the close resemblance of extant forms to fossilized imprints of cnidarians from this era (for example the Ediacara fauna of Australia) hint of slow rates of evolution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, TG6 2E9, Canada

    Andrew N. Spencer

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  1. Andrew N. Spencer
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  1. University of Florida, St. Augustine, Florida, USA

    Peter A. V. Anderson

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Spencer, A.N. (1989). Chemical and Electrical Synaptic Transmission in the Cnidaria. In: Anderson, P.A.V. (eds) Evolution of the First Nervous Systems. NATO ASI Series, vol 188. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0921-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0921-3_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-0923-7

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