Neural Basis of Magnetic Field Detection in a Mollusc

动物的磁感受仍然是神经科学中一个令人困惑的问题。行为实验表明，不同种类的动物显然可以探测到地球磁场，并利用它来定位或迁移。神经系统如何检测到这种特性的机制在很大程度上是未知的。海蛞蝓是一种与蜗牛有关的海洋无脊椎动物，它们的神经系统相对简单，这些动物为神经生物学提供了一个很好的模型系统，因为它们的大脑中有一些特殊的神经细胞，在同一物种的个体中是一致可识别的。最近，人们发现一种海蛞蝓的大脑中有一些神经细胞，可以对地球强度磁场的方向变化做出反应。这些神经元是动物中第一个可识别的细胞，已知它们对磁刺激有反应。该项目利用电生理学和解剖学来阐明这些神经元的功能和连接，并以此为起点，开始仔细寻找探测磁场的细胞或结构。这项工作的结果将为一种神秘但可能非常重要的意义提供新的理解。这项工作将有助于解释迁徙动物如何能够长距离航行，从而对神经科学以外的行为科学、生态学和环境科学产生影响。

Magnetoreception by animals remains a puzzling issue in neuroscience. While behavioral experiments have demonstrated that different kinds of animals apparently can detect the earth's magnetic field and use it for orientation or migration. The mechanisms of how the nervous system might detect this property are largely unknown. Sea slugs are marine invertebrates related to snails, with a relatively simple nervous system, and these animals provide an excellent model system for neurobiology because there are some particular nerve cells in the brain that are consistently identifiable across individuals of a species. Recently, one kind of sea slug has been found to have some nerve cells in its brain that respond to changing the orientation of earth-strength magnetic fields. These neurons are the first identifiable cells in any animal that are known to respond to magnetic stimuli. This projeat uses electrophysiology and anatomy to clarify the function and connections of these neurons, to use them as a starting point to launch a careful search for the cells or structures that detect magnetic fields. Results from this work will provide a new understanding of a mysterious but potentially very important sense. The work will help explain how migratory animals may be be able to navigate long distances, and so have an impact beyond neuroscience to behavioral sciences, ecology, and environmental sciences.