Inhibitory feedback from the motor circuit gates mechanosensory processing in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: Animals must integrate sensory cues with their current behavioral context to generate a suitable response. How this integration occurs is poorly understood. Previously, we developed high-throughput methods to probe neural activity in populations of Caenorhabditis elegans and discovered that the animal's mechanosensory processing is rapidly modulated by the animal's locomotion. Specifically, we found that when the worm turns it suppresses its mechanosensory-evoked reversal response. Here, we report that C. elegans use inhibitory feedback from turning-associated neurons to provide this rapid modulation of mechanosensory processing. By performing high-throughput optogenetic perturbations triggered on behavior, we show that turning-associated neurons SAA, RIV, and/or SMB suppress mechanosensor

SUBMITTER: Kumar S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10617738 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature