Medial giant interneuron (original) (raw)

The medial giant interneuron (MG) is an interneuron in the abdominal nerve cord of crayfish. It is part of the system that controls the caridoid escape reaction of crayfish, clawed lobsters, and other decapod crustaceans. Crayfish have a pair of medial giants running the length of the entire animal, and are the largest neurons in the animal. The medial giant interneurons are less well studied than the lateral giant neurons, which trigger a similar escape behavior.