Central Neuronal Response to the Activation of Osmoreceptors in the Osphradium of Aplysia

Abstract

The physiology of osphradium (the pallial organ situated near the branchiae in most mollusca with the exception of the higher cephalopods) is poorly known. Since the work of Copeland (1918) on Busycon canaliculatum, it has been generally accepted that the osphradium serves a chemoreceptive function. This conception has been shared by Henschel (1932), Brock (1936), Brown & Noble (1960),Michelson (1960) and Wolper (1950); all of whom reached this conclusion by means of experiments in which behavioural responses to a variety of stimuli were observed before and after the removal of the osphradium.