Californica dreaming: neurotransmitter 'doze' response and neuronal signal analysis of aplysia californica

The invertebrate central nervous system is ideally suited for the study of neurophysiology, as the comparative size of the individual neuron is rather large; on the order of 20 to 200 microns. Intracellular recordings of these cells are accomplished with a modicum of difficulty to an investigator familiar with the anatomy of the specified invertebrate. Once a microelectrode is inserted in the cell, neurotransmitters, such as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and acetylcholine (ACh), can be released into the surrounding tissue bath, and the response to those neurotransmitters are observed as changes in the neuronal output. The engineering aspect of this investigation lies within the signal processing of the observed response. This research examines the dissection process of Aplysia californica, the cellular response of the central nervous system to 5-HT and ACh, and the signal processing techniques of the resulting waveforms.