7.12 - Hydrodynamic Sensing by the African Clawed Frog, Xenopus laevis

Adult, aquatic African clawed frogs, Xenopus laevis, locate prey by accurately turning and swimming toward sources of surface waves. Several sensory systems can mediate this reaction but the most sensitive and best studied is the lateral line. Water movement is detected by hair cells collected in neuromasts—sensory organs arranged in nearly 300 stitches distributed in the lines on the head and trunk. From the pattern of activation, the nervous system must compute stimulus direction and distance. How this might occur is reviewed based on anatomical, physiological, and behavioral studies that together make Xenopus an excellent model for neural computation.