Photoperiod-dependent neural control of the activity of the neurosecretory canopy cell in the lateral lobes of the cerebral ganglia of the freshwater pulmonate Lymnaea stagnalis (L.)

Abstract

In the lateral lobes of the cerebral ganglia of the pulmonate freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis (L.) one large neurosecretory canopy cell (CC) and two droplet cells (DC) are present. With the ganglion-transplantation technique and with quantitative electron microscopy it is shown that photoperiodic stimuli control the neurosecretory activity of the CC via a stimulatory extrinsic neural pathway. The eyes do not play an important role in this regulatory process. The neurosecretory activity of the DC is not affected by differences in photoperiod. The significance of the photoperiodic control of CC activity is discussed in relation to the pathway for the endocrine control of reproduction which is known to be photoperiod-dependent.