A Single Set of Interneurons Drives Opposite Behaviors in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: Many chemosensory stimuli evoke innate behavioral responses that can be either appetitive or aversive, depending on an animal's age, prior experience, nutritional status, and environment [1-9]. However, the circuit mechanisms that enable these valence changes are poorly understood. Here, we show that Caenorhabditis elegans can alternate between attractive or aversive responses to carbon dioxide (CO₂), depending on its recently experienced CO₂ environment. Both responses are mediated by a single pathway of interneurons. The CO₂-evoked activity of these interneurons is subject to extreme experience-dependent modulation, enabling them to drive opposite behavioral responses to CO₂. Other interneurons in the circuit regulate behavioral sensitivity to

SUBMITTER: Guillermin ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6193758 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature