HABITUATION OF THE WITHDRAWAL RESPONSE IN NEREID POLYCHAETES

2. RATES OF HABITUATION IN INTACT AND DECEREBRATE WORMS

¹ Department of Zoology, University of Bristol, Bristol, England, U. K.

1. Rates of habituation and response frequencies have been compared in N. diversicolor, P. dumerilii and N. pelagica to changes in illumination, tactile and mechanical stimuli. In general habituation is rapid to light stimuli and mechanical shocks and slow to tactile stimuli.

2. Worms in tubes are generally more reactive than worms not in tubes.

3. Decerebrate worms respond to the same stimuli as intact ones. They also habituate to them, and similar relationships exist between the response frequencies and rates of babituation to different stimuli in intact and decerebrate worms.