ESCAPE BEHAVIOR - BRAIN-STEM AND SPINAL-CORD CIRCUITRY AND FUNCTION

Recent work has demonstrated that the neural circuits mediating escape reactions in lower vertebrates and mammals have a common framework, w ith only two excitatory central synapses in the reflex are. This relat ively direct linkage from sense organs to muscles and the fact that se gments of the network also transmit other motor commands help guarante e that escape always has priority over ongoing behaviors. Yet, modulat ion and plasticity contribute some variability to the expression of es cape and, therefore, to the adequacy of its survival function.