Coupling between fast and slow oscillator circuits in Cancer borealis is temperature-compensated

• Main Authors: Daniel Powell, Sara A Haddad, Srinivas Gorur-Shandilya, Eve Marder
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2021-02-01
• Series: eLife
• Subjects: crabs; pyloric rhythm; gastric mill rhythm; stomatogastric ganglion; Cancer borealis
• Online Access: https://elifesciences.org/articles/60454

Coupled oscillatory circuits are ubiquitous in nervous systems. Given that most biological processes are temperature-sensitive, it is remarkable that the neuronal circuits of poikilothermic animals can maintain coupling across a wide range of temperatures. Within the stomatogastric ganglion (STG) of the crab, Cancer borealis, the fast pyloric rhythm (~1 Hz) and the slow gastric mill rhythm (~0.1 Hz) are precisely coordinated at ~11°C such that there is an integer number of pyloric cycles per gastric mill cycle (integer coupling). Upon increasing temperature from 7°C to 23°C, both oscillators showed similar temperature-dependent increases in cycle frequency, and integer coupling between the circuits was conserved. Thus, although both rhythms show temperature-dependent changes in rhythm frequency, the processes that couple these circuits maintain their coordination over a wide range of temperatures. Such robustness to temperature changes could be part of a toolbox of processes that enables neural circuits to maintain function despite global perturbations.