Calcium levels in ASER neurons determine behavioral valence by engaging distinct neuronal circuits in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: The valence of stimuli is shaped by various factors, including environmental cues, internal states, genetic variability, and past experience. However, the mechanisms behind this flexibility remain elusive. In the nematode C. elegans, we found that ethanol, an olfactory stimulus, can elicit opposite chemotaxis responses - attraction vs. aversion - depending on NaCl concentration, demonstrating the role of environmental factors in altering valence. Remarkably, a single chemosensory neuron, ASER, orchestrate this bidirectional ethanol chemotaxis by integrating information from both stimuli - ethanol and NaCl - into its neuronal activity dynamics. Specifically, different calcium dynamics in the ASER neuron differentially activate the signaling molecule CMK-1, thereby engaging different downstr

SUBMITTER: Xue W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11842750 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature