The reactions of necturus to stimuli received through the skin
Abstract
Investigated the sensitiveness of the general body surface of 4 mud puppies (Necturus maculosus) to touch, chemicals, heat and light. Before each experiment, the Ss were transferred from the aquarium tank into a zinc tray. Movement was measured using a course wire screen that covered the tray, which was divided off with twine into inch squares. The tank was divide into 4 compartments, one for each S. The results show that the skin of the Ss was sensitive everywhere to tactile stimulation. They were sensitive to chemical stimuli over the entire body surface, the reactions being characteristic for different regions stimulated. They were more sensitive to some chemicals than to others. When any region of the body was fatigued for a given chemical, it rarely responded to tactile stimuli, although it responded to other chemicals. The Ss were also sensitive to considerable changes in temperature, and were negatively phototropic.