Neuropeptide and serotonin co-transmission sets the activity pattern in the C. elegans egg-laying circuit.

ABSTRACT: Neurons typically release both a neurotransmitter and one or more neuropeptides, but how these signals are integrated within neural circuits to generate and tune behaviors remains poorly understood. We studied how the two hermaphrodite-specific neurons (HSNs) activate the egg-laying circuit of Caenorhabditis elegans by releasing both the neurotransmitter serotonin and NLP-3 neuropeptides. Egg laying occurs in a temporal pattern with approximately 2-min active phases, during which eggs are laid, separated by approximately 20-min inactive phases, during which no eggs are laid. To understand how serotonin and NLP-3 neuropeptides together help produce this behavior pattern, we identified the G-protein-coupled receptor neuropeptide receptor 36 (NPR-36) as an NLP-3 neuropeptide receptor using ge

SUBMITTER: Butt A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12741815 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature