Problems in Invertebrate Chemoreception

Abstract

On a cellular level the problems of chemoreception in invertebrates are essentially the same as those for any other animal. From an ecological standpoint the deficiencies of our knowledge are more seriously felt in studies of the invertebrates than in the work on vertebrates. General aspects of chemoreception about which information is needed are (1) the basis for the selectivity of behavioral responses to chemical stimuli, (2) the fundamental processes in chemoreception, and (3) the mechanisms by which impulses from chemoreceptors initiate integrated patterns of motor activity. Invertebrates can provide material especially suitable for studying several aspects of the problems.