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Abstract
A series of experiments has been carried out on antennal compensatory movements (acm) in the snail Helix. When the animal is oriented in the up-right position it lowers its “antennae”, when oriented in the down-right position it slightly raises the “antennae”. The acm has also been studied under dynamic conditions using as stimulus both a step and delta (Δ) function. The response to a positive Δ is a monophasic lowering of the antennae, whilst the negative Δ fails in eliciting any noticeable acm. The response to a positive step is a biphasic lowering of the “antennae”, whilst the negative step fails in eliciting a corresponding symmetrical response. Furthermore, the acm has been studied without altering the actual orientation of the whole animal, affecting only the statoconia orientation inside the statocyst. The acm shows a time course like that obtained in previous experiments.
The dynamics of the statoconia has been investigated directly observing their movements inside the organ. These observations revealed the existence both of a strong mechanico-hydraulic coupling between the statoconia and the statocyst wall and of an internal friction inside the statoconia mass. The information gathered from the analysis of the statoconia dynamics has been used to interpret the acm.