Regenerative ability, robustness, and flexibility of the brain of the terrestrial slug Limax

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  • ナメクジの脳が持つしたたかさ―再生能力，頑健性，そして柔軟性―
  • ナメクジ ノ ノウ ガ モツ シタタカサ サイセイ ノウリョク ガンケンセイ ソシテ ジュウナンセイ

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Abstract

The brain of mammals can hardly regenerate once it is physically damaged. Its constituent neurons are terminally differentiated, and have essentially ceased to divide. On the other hand, the central nervous system of the gastropod Limax can spontaneously regenerate, and recover its structure and function even if it is damaged or ablated. Tentacles, for example, are able to regenerate their original structure if they are amputated. Moreover, two pairs of tentacles have functional redundancy each other. The spontaneous regeneration can also be observed in the procerebra, bilaterally equipped brain parts involved in the higher olfactory functions. Here again, the bilateral procerebra exhibit a kind of functional redundancy where only either right or left procerebrum functions at a time. Finally, the neurons are able to amplify their genomic DNA to meet the increasing demand for the macromolecules during the body growth. In this review article, I introduce the central nervous system of Limax that shows exquisite feats of flexible change far exceeding the conceptual framework that is taken for granted by researchers in the field of mammalian neuroscience.

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