蛇类红外线感受系统:一种可能的外气功研究实验动物模型

许多蛇类,例如响尾蛇属,洞蛇属,饭匙倩蛇属,竹叶青蛇属和蝮蛇属等在头部具有一对能在黑暗中探测和捕获猎物的凹陷器官。这种凹陷器官对红外射线非常敏感,因此也称为红外线感受器官。凹陷器官在中间部位被一层约为15μm厚的薄膜(红外线感受膜)分隔为外腔和内腔,红外线感受膜由三叉神经节中的特化假单极神经细胞(红外线感受细胞)的外周轴突所支配,红外线感受膜内相邻的游离神经末梢聚合形成约40μm直径的团块,构成了基本的红外线感受野单元。三叉神经节中的红外线感受细胞的中枢轴突投射到同侧延髓中的三叉神经束外侧降核,该神经核团为此类蛇属所特有。从三叉神经束外侧降核二级神经元发出的轴突投射到对侧视顶盖。由于蛇类不具有分化的半球新皮质,因此视顶盖为红外线感受系统的感觉与行为的整合中枢。在三叉神经节,延髓三叉神经束外侧降核及视顶盖均可记录到神经细胞对红外线刺激的反应电位,从而可观察红外线刺激强度与各级红外线感受神经元反应强度的关系。本文简述了蛇类红外线感受系统的形态学和生理学特征及其研究进展,并且探讨了利用蛇类红外线感受系统作为生物体接受外气功研究的实验动物模型的可能性。

Infrared Sensory System in the Crotaline Snake:a Possible Experimental Model for Chinese Qigong Approach

Certain of the snakes,such as Crotalus,Bothrops,Lachesis,Trimeresurus,and Agkistrodonpossess a pair of pit organs which enable snakes to detect and capture prey animals in the dark.The pit organs are highly sensitive to infrared ray and so are called infrared organs.Specific cells in the trigeminal ganglion innervate a pit membrane locating at the bottom of pit organs with their free nerve endings which act as infrared detectors.These cells send their central axons ipsilaterally to a specific nucleus located lateral to the trigeminal spinal tract in medulla oblongata that is called as nucleus of lateral descending trigeminal tract.The fibers which emanate from nucleus of lateral descending trigeminal tract directly project to the contralateral optic tectum which represents the center of integration of arrival and departure of impulses that control the general nervous activity and the behavior of the snake which do not have a differentiated hemispherical neocortex.Neuronal response potentials to infrared stimulation on the pit organs can be recorded in the trigeminal ganglion,nucleus of lateral descending trigeminal tract and optic tectum respectively.The purpose of this paper is to review the general morphological and physiological properties and the latest developments of research on the infrared sensory system in the crotaline snakes,and to discuss the possibility that this infrared sensory system would be utilized as a experimental model for the research of Chinese Qigong,especially for the outgoing qi that was known contains infrared ray.