Local neuropeptide signaling modulates serotonergic transmission to shape the temporal organization of C. elegans egg-laying behavior.

ABSTRACT: Animal behaviors are often composed of distinct alternating behavioral states. Neuromodulatory signals are thought to be critical for establishing stable behavioral states and for orchestrating transitions between them. However, we have only a limited understanding of how neuromodulatory systems act in vivo to alter circuit performance and shape behavior. To address these questions, we have investigated neuromodulatory signaling in the context of Caenorhabditis elegans egg-laying. Egg-laying activity cycles between discrete states-short bursts of egg deposition (active phases) that alternate with prolonged quiescent periods (inactive phases). Here using genetic, pharmacological and optogenetic approaches for cell-specific activation and inhibition, we show that a group of neurosecretory ce

SUBMITTER: Banerjee N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5398689 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature