Signatures of proprioceptive control in Caenorhabditis elegans locomotion.

ABSTRACT: Animal neuromechanics describes the coordinated self-propelled movement of a body, subject to the combined effects of internal neural control and mechanical forces. Here we use a computational model to identify effects of neural and mechanical modulation on undulatory forward locomotion of Caenorhabditis elegans, with a focus on proprioceptively driven neural control. We reveal a fundamental relationship between body elasticity and environmental drag in determining the dynamics of the body and demonstrate the manifestation of this relationship in the context of proprioceptively driven control. By considering characteristics unique to proprioceptive neurons, we predict the signatures of internal gait modulation that contrast with the known signatures of externally or biomechanically modulat

SUBMITTER: Denham JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6158217 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature