The Mechanosensory Lateral Line

This volume represents the published proceedings of an international conference on the Neurobiology and Evolution of the Mechanosensory Lateral Line System held August 31 to September 4, 1987, at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Bielefeld, West Germany. The goal of this confer ence was to bring together researchers from all over the world to share informa tion about a major aquatic sensory system, the evolution and function of which have largely remained an enigma since the 18th century. The "lateral line" or "lateralis" system has been used as an umbrella term to describe what originally (without the aid of modern anatomical techniques) looked like a series of pits, grooves, and lines on the head and trunk of fishes and some amphibians. For at least the past 30 years, however, it has been recognized that the lateralis system comprises not one, but at least two functional classes of receptors: mechanoreceptors and electroreceptors. The relative ease with which the appropriate stimulus could be defined and measured for the electroreceptive class has resulted in an explosion of information on this submodality during the past 20 years. As a result, there is little ambiguity about the overall function of the electrosensory system, now generally regarded as an independent system in its own right. A similarly clear definition for the function of the mechanosensory lateralis system has not been as forthcoming.

Preface.- Acknowledgments.- Contributors.- I Introduction.- 1 A Brief Overview of the Mechanosensory Lateral Line System and the Contributions to This Volume.- 2 A Short Personal Review of the History of Lateral Line Research.- II Morphology, Phylogeny, and Ontogeny.- 3 The Phylogenetic Distribution and Innervation of Craniate Mechanoreceptive Lateral Lines.- 4 Developmental Constraints and Evolution of the Lateral Line System in Teleost Fishes.- 5 Diversity and Regression in the Amphibian Lateral Line and Electrosensory System.- 6 Evolution of Octavolateralis Sensory Cells.- 7 Organization and Development of the Zebrafish Posterior Lateral Line.- 8 Cellular Events Underlying the Regenerative Replacement of Lateral Line Sensory Epithelia in Amphibians.- III Peripheral Processing: Hydrodynamics, Biomechanics, and Neural Encoding.- 9 Functional Evolution of Lateral Line and Inner Ear Sensory Systems.- 10 Hydrodynamic Imaging of the Surroundings by the Lateral Line of the Blind Cave Fish Anoptichthys jordani.- 11 Some Observations on the Forces Acting on Neuromasts in Fish Lateral Line Canals.- 12 Dynamic Behavior and Micromechanical Properties of the Cupula.- 13 Sensory Transduction in Lateral Line Hair Cells.- 14 Functional Organization of the Lateral Line Periphery.- 15 Peripheral Processing by the Lateral Line System of the Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdi).- IV Central Processing: Neuroanatomy and Physiology.- 16 Central Mechanosensory Lateral Line Centers and Pathways Among the Elasmobranchs.- 17 Central Lateral Line Mechanosensory Pathways in Bony Fish.- 18 Central Mechanosensory Lateral Line System in Amphibians.- 19 Central Nervous Physiology of the Lateral Line, with Special Reference to Cartilaginous Fishes.- 20 Direction Coding in Central Parts of the Lateral Line System.- 21 Interrelationship of Acousticolateral and Visual Systems in the Teleost Midbrain.- 22 The Efferent System.- 23 Lateral Line Afferent and Efferent Systems of the Goldfish with Special Reference to the Mauthner Cell.- V Behavioral Analysis of Sensory Capabilities.- 24 Function of the Free Neuromasts of Marine Teleost Larvae.- 25. Lateral Line System of Surface-Feeding Fish: Anatomy, Physiology and Behavior.- 26 Wave Analysis by Amphibians.- 27 Stimulus Localization in Xenopus: Role of Directional Sensitivity of Lateral Line Stitches.- 28 Lateral Line Detection of Planktonic Prey.- 29 Behavioral Identification of Lateral Line and Inner Ear Function.- VI Specialized Lateral Line and Related Sensory Systems.- 30 Specialized Lateral Line Receptor Systems in Elasmobranchs: The Spiracular Organs and Vesicles of Savi.- 31 Hydrodynamic Receptor Systems in Invertebrates.- 32 The Ear as Part of the Octavolateralis System.- 33 Comparisons Between Electrosensory and Mechanosensory Lateral Line Systems.- VII Prospectus.- 34 Lateral Line Research: Prospects and Opportunities.- Taxonomic Appendix.- Author Index.- Taxonomic Index.