Descending pathway facilitates undulatory wave propagation in Caenorhabditis elegans through gap junctions.

ABSTRACT: Descending signals from the brain play critical roles in controlling and modulating locomotion kinematics. In the Caenorhabditis elegans nervous system, descending AVB premotor interneurons exclusively form gap junctions with the B-type motor neurons that execute forward locomotion. We combined genetic analysis, optogenetic manipulation, calcium imaging, and computational modeling to elucidate the function of AVB-B gap junctions during forward locomotion. First, we found that some B-type motor neurons generate rhythmic activity, constituting distributed oscillators. Second, AVB premotor interneurons use their electric inputs to drive bifurcation of B-type motor neuron dynamics, triggering their transition from stationary to oscillatory activity. Third, proprioceptive couplings betwe

SUBMITTER: Xu T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5948959 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature