Command neuron

A command neuron is an interneuron whose excitation is both necessary and sufficient to evoke a behavior. These criteria are often tested by:

  1. Recording the activity of the command neuron during stimulus presentation that triggers a given behavior.
  2. Showing that the behavior cannot be evoked after removal of the command neuron (necessary).
  3. Stimulation of the command neuron can elicit the behavior (sufficient).[1] In some cases, a group of interneurons together form a command system while the individual members, known as command-like neurons, may not satisfy both the necessity and sufficiency criteria.[2]
  1. ^ Kupfermann, Irving; Weiss, Klaudiusz R. (March 1978). "The command neuron concept". Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 1 (1): 3–10. doi:10.1017/S0140525X00059057. ISSN 0140-525X.
  2. ^ Eaton, R.C.; Lee, R.K.K.; Foreman, M.B. (March 2001). "The Mauthner cell and other identified neurons of the brainstem escape network of fish". Progress in Neurobiology. 63 (4): 467–485. doi:10.1016/s0301-0082(00)00047-2. ISSN 0301-0082.