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Morphology and Physiology of the Ascidian Nervous Systems and the Effectors

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Transgenic Ascidians

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1029))

Abstract

Neurobiology in ascidians has made many advances. Ascidians have offered natural advantages to researchers, including fecundity, structural simplicity, invariant morphology, and fast and stereotyped developmental processes. The researchers have also accumulated on this animal a great deal of knowledge, genomic resources, and modern genetic techniques. A recent connectomic analysis has shown an ultimately resolved image of the larval nervous system, whereas recent applications of live imaging and optogenetics have clarified the functional organization of the juvenile nervous system. Progress in resources and techniques have provided convincing ways to deepen what we have wanted to know about the nervous systems of ascidians. Here, the research history and the current views regarding ascidian nervous systems are summarized.

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful for helpful comments by the editor, Dr. Yasunori Sasakura, which greatly improved the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan

    Atsuo Nishino

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  1. Atsuo Nishino
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Correspondence to Atsuo Nishino .

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  1. Shimoda Marine Research Center, University of Tsukuba, Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan

    Yasunori Sasakura

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Nishino, A. (2018). Morphology and Physiology of the Ascidian Nervous Systems and the Effectors. In: Sasakura, Y. (eds) Transgenic Ascidians . Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1029. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7545-2_16

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