Figure 7: A dynamic reciprocal inhibition between ASHs and ASIs, and the neuronal circuit.
The ser-3; ser-5 double mutation had a similar effect on ASH (a) and ASI (b) calcium responses to the 10 mM CuSO4 stimulation as did silencing both the ASH and ASI neurons. (c) The bending magnitude along the body centre line in both the ASH and ASI neurons silenced worms and ser-3; ser-5 double mutants (n=30 assays). The durations (d) and body bends (e) of the Cu2+-evoked reversals assayed by the dry drop test in worms are indicated. (f) Synaptic connections, functional actions and the underlying signalling pathways among neurons in the ASI–ASH reciprocal inhibitory neuron circuit. (g) Schematic representation of the cross-inhibition between sensory neuron ASHs and ASIs that fine-tunes nociception and avoidance behaviour. All data are expressed as means±s.e.m. The number on each bar indicates the number of independent tests for each genotype. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test in a,b and d,e, and two-way ANOVA test in c. Corrected with Bonferroni t-test for multiple comparisons. Values that differ significantly are indicated (*P≤0.05, **P≤0.01 and ***P≤0.001 compared with the wild-type N2 control).
