The water absorption response: a behavioral assay for physiological processes in terrestrial amphibians.
Publication/Presentation Date
1-1-1998
Abstract
Terrestrial amphibians take up water by abducting the hind limbs and pressing a specialized portion of the ventral skin to a moist surface, using a characteristic behavior called the water absorption response. An assay of the water absorption response was used to quantify physiological factors associated with thirst and water uptake. Dramatic changes in the water absorption response resulted from subtle changes in hydration state and from altering the reserve water supply in the urinary bladder. The water absorption response could be induced by intraperitoneal and intracerebroventricular injection of angiotensin II, demonstrating that components of the renin-angiotensin system on both sides of the blood-brain barrier have a dipsogenic function in amphibians. These experiments also demonstrated that the water absorption response could be influenced by changes in barometric pressure. Toads avoided the water absorption response on hyperosmotic substrates, and behavioral experiments showed that the amphibian skin served a sensory function similar to that of the lingual epithelium of mammals. The water absorption response assay has enormous potential as a tool for the investigation of physiological processes and sensory capabilities of amphibians.
Volume
71
Issue
2
First Page
127
Last Page
138
ISSN
0031-935X
Published In/Presented At
Baughman, B. M., Stennett, E., Lipner, R. E., Rudawsky, A. C., & Schmidtke, S. J. (2009). Structural and spectroscopic studies of the photophysical properties of benzophenone derivatives. The journal of physical chemistry. A, 113(28), 8011–8019. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp810256x
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
9548645
Department(s)
Fellows and Residents
Document Type
Article