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Cited by 82Cephalopods and Marine BiologyMotor Control and AdaptationMarine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology

Patterns of Motor Activity in the Isolated Nerve Cord of the octopus Arm

Gutfreund, Yoram, Matzner, Henry, Flash, Tamar, Hochner, Binyamin·2006·The Biological Bulletin
DOI 10.2307/4134544
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Abstract

The extremely flexible octopus arm provides a unique opportunity for studying movement control in a highly redundant motor system. We describe a novel preparation that allows analysis of the peripheral nervous system of the octopus arm and its interaction with the muscular and mechanosensory elements of the arm's intrinsic muscular system. First we examined the synaptic responses in muscle fibers to identify the motor pathways from the axial nerve cord of the arm to the surrounding musculature. We show that the motor axons project to the muscles via nerve roots originating laterally from the arm nerve cord. The motor field of each nerve is limited to the region where the nerve enters the arm musculature. The same roots also carry afferent mechanosensory information from the intrinsic muscle to the axial nerve cord. Next, we characterized the pattern of activity generated in the dorsal roots by electrically stimulating the axial nerve cord. The evoked activity, although far reaching and long lasting, cannot alone account for the arm extension movements generated by similar electrical stimulation. The mismatch between patterns of activity in the isolated cord and in an intact arm may stem from the involvement of mechanosensory feedback in natural arm extension.

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Crossref · 10.2307/4134544

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31 of 31 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The octopus has a large number of locally controlled degrees of freedom; each sucker is controlled by local neural circuitry within the arms, which also innervates and activates surrounding arm musculature.

    “The octopus also has a large number of locally controlled degrees of freedom. Each sucker is controlled by local neural circuitry within the arms. In addition to controlling the sucker pose, this circuitry also innervates and activates the surrounding arm musculature (Gutfreund et al., 2006), which generates the forces and shape of the arm (Kier and Smith, 1985).”

    From Lessons for Robotics From the Control Architecture of the Octopus (2022) · cites this paper as Gutfreund et al., 2006

  • Down the center of each arm, a nerve cord (the arm or axial nerve cord) runs parallel to the suckers, 200-300 of which are staggered down the ventral side of the arm.

    “Down the center of each arm, a nerve cord (known as the arm or axial nerve cord) runs parallel to the suckers, 200–300 of which are staggered down the ventral side of the arm (Young, 1965; Gutfreund et al., 2006).”

    From Lessons for Robotics From the Control Architecture of the Octopus (2022) · cites this paper as Gutfreund et al., 2006

  • Sensory input to a given sucker can cause neighboring suckers and musculature to bend toward the activated sucker, and this effect can propagate along the arm if neighboring suckers are likewise activated.

    “enables sensory input to a given sucker to result in neighboring suckers and musculature bending toward the activated sucker, an effect which can propagate along the arm if these neighboring suckers are likewise activated.”

    From Lessons for Robotics From the Control Architecture of the Octopus (2022) · cites this paper as Gutfreund et al., 2006

  • Sucker recruitment behavior is retained in isolated arm preparations.

    “This recruitment behavior, retained in isolated arm preparations (Rowell, 1963; Altman, 1968; Gutfreund et al., 2006; Zullo et al., 2011), enables sensory input to a given sucker to result in neighboring suckers and musculature bending toward the activated sucker, an effect which can propagate along the arm if these neighboring suckers are likewise activated.”

    From Lessons for Robotics From the Control Architecture of the Octopus (2022) · cites this paper as Gutfreund et al., 2006

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Authors
Gutfreund, Y., Matzner, H., Flash, T., & Hochner, B.
Affiliations
  • Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (IL)
  • Hebrew University of Jerusalem (IL)
  • Weizmann Institute of Science (IL)
ORCID
Venue
The Biological Bulletin
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Published
2006-12
Volume
211
Issue
3
Pages
212-222
ISSN
  • 0006-3185 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-8697
DOI
10.2307/4134544
OpenAlex
W2161535711
Cited by
82
References
31
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 3
FWCI
0.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Biological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Cephalopods and Marine Biology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology
Keywords
octopus arm, nerve cord, motor control, intrinsic muscles, mechanosensory feedback, motor axons, nerve roots, arm extension
MeSH terms
Animals, Axons, Electric Stimulation, Extremities, Motor Activity, Neurons, Physical Stimulation, Peripheral Nervous System, Ganglia, Invertebrate, Muscle Fibers, Skeletal, Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials, Mechanotransduction, Cellular, Octopodiformes, In Vitro Techniques

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