COMPARATIVE-STUDIES ON THE MAUTHNER CELL OF TELEOST FISH IN RELATION TO SENSORY INPUT

Most physiological and behavioral studies of the Mauthner cells have u sed the goldfish and a few other fish from the superorder Ostariophysi , series Otophysi (= otophysans). We first provide some background and recent findings on the Mauthner cells of otophysan fish and then comp are this information to that known about the Mauthner cells in certain non-otophysan fish. These comparisons are meant to provide the impetu s for a comparative approach to understanding the role of the Mauthner cells in behavior.