Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
1
pubmed:dateCreated
1979-11-29
pubmed:abstractText
The trochanteral hair plate of the cockroach leg contains approximately 60 hair sensilla that are deflected by a joint membrane during flexion of the leg. Previous work has shown that the organ is a mechanoreceptor which limits leg flexion during walking by reflex connections to flexor and extensor motoneurons. Functional analysis of the largest sensilla has shown that their behaviour may be well approximated by a velocity detector followed by a unidirectional rectifier. We report here the results of an examination of the largest sensilla by scanning and transmission electron microscopy in an attempt to correlate the structure with the known functional elements. Each hair is innervated by a single sensory dendrite which is surrounded by an electron dense dendritic sheath. The dendrite terminates below the hair shaft in a tubular body containing a parallel array of microtubules embedded in an electron dense matrix, while the dendritic sheath extends beyond the tubular body to form the walls of the ecdysial canal. At the proximal end of the tubular body the dendritic sheath and sensory dendrite are anchored to the cuticular socket by a fibrous dome which seems to form a flucrum around which the tubular body can be deflected by movements of the hair. We suggest that the basis for the detection of velocity shealth and the tubular body. The structure is also discussed with relation to the mechanism of sensory transduction and the possible causes of the unidirectional sensitivity.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Apr
pubmed:issn
0302-766X
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
30
pubmed:volume
198
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
159-74
pubmed:dateRevised
2003-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1979
pubmed:articleTitle
The mechanism of sensory transduction in the sensilla of the trochanteral hair plate of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article