Lateral line

The lateral line is a system of sense organs found in aquatic vertebrates, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial cells, known as hair cells, which respond to displacement caused by motion and transduce these signals into electrical impulses via excitatory synapses. Lateral lines serve an important role in schooling behavior, predation, and orientation. For example, fish can use their lateral line system to follow the vortices produced by fleeing prey. Lateral lines are usually visible as faint lines of pores running lengthwise down each side, from the vicinity of the gill covers to the base of the tail. In some species, the receptive organs of the lateral line have been modified to function as electroreceptors, which are organs used to detect electrical impulses, and as such, these systems remain closely linked. Most amphibian larvae and some fully aquatic adult amphibians possess mechanosensitive systems comparable to the lateral line.

The lateral line system allows the detection of movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the water surrounding an animal, providing spatial awareness and the ability to navigate in the environment. This plays an essential role in orientation, predatory behavior, defense, and social schooling.

The lateral line system is necessary to detect vibrations made by prey, and to orient towards the source to begin predatory action. Fish are able to detect movement, produced either by prey or a vibrating metal sphere, and orient themselves toward the source before proceeding to make a predatory strike at it. This behavior persists even in blinded fish, but is greatly diminished when lateral line function was inhibited by CoCl₂ application. Cobalt chloride treatment results in the release of cobalt ions, disrupting ionic transport and preventing signal transduction in the lateral lines. These behaviors are dependent specifically on mechanoreceptors located within the canals of the lateral line.

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