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Neural circuits

Unpredictable turns in the worm

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 16, page 245 (2015)Cite this article

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C. elegans do not move directly towards an attractive odour. Instead, their path towards such an odour is often characterized by distinct turns, including reversals, in which the animal initially moves backwards and then forwards in a new direction. Reversals in response to attractive odours are mediated by two AWC olfactory neurons, which detect the odour, and two AVA command interneurons, which activate motor neurons, but how these contribute to variability in reversals was not clear. Although there is a single direct synaptic connection from AWC to AVA neurons, most signalling occurs indirectly, including via two AIB interneurons, which receive direct AWC input. Furthermore, although AIB neurons can signal directly onto AVA neurons, they can also form many indirect connections with these command interneurons, including via two RIM interneurons; the precise contribution of RIM neurons to reversals was not clear, however.

Using optogenetics the authors showed that selective, independent activation of AWC, AVA and AIB neurons increased reversals in freely moving worms. RIM neuron activation also increased reversals, which clarified their role in the reversal circuitry. However, it was still not known how this circuit generates probabilistic reversals in response to a fixed stimulus.

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References

  1. Gordus, A. et al. Feedback from network states generates variability in a probabalistic olfactory circuit. Cell http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.02.018 (2015)

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Authors
  1. Fiona Carr
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Carr, F. Unpredictable turns in the worm. Nat Rev Neurosci 16, 245 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3951

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