1
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Xue W, Chen Y, Lei Z, Wang Y, Liu J, Wen X, Xu F, Chen P, Wu Z, Jin YN, Yu YV. Calcium levels in ASER neurons determine behavioral valence by engaging distinct neuronal circuits in C. elegans. Nat Commun 2025; 16:1814. [PMID: 39979341 PMCID: PMC11842750 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57051-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2025] [Indexed: 02/22/2025] Open
Abstract
The valence of stimuli is shaped by various factors, including environmental cues, internal states, genetic variability, and past experience. However, the mechanisms behind this flexibility remain elusive. In the nematode C. elegans, we found that ethanol, an olfactory stimulus, can elicit opposite chemotaxis responses - attraction vs. aversion - depending on NaCl concentration, demonstrating the role of environmental factors in altering valence. Remarkably, a single chemosensory neuron, ASER, orchestrate this bidirectional ethanol chemotaxis by integrating information from both stimuli - ethanol and NaCl - into its neuronal activity dynamics. Specifically, different calcium dynamics in the ASER neuron differentially activate the signaling molecule CMK-1, thereby engaging different downstream interneurons and leading to opposite chemotaxis directions. Consistently, optogenetic manipulations of the ASER neuron reverse the chemotaxis directions, by altering its calcium dynamics. Our findings reveal a mechanism by which a single neuron integrates multisensory inputs to determine context-dependent behavioral valence, contributing to our current understanding of valence encoding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weikang Xue
- Department of Neurology, Medical Research Institute, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yuanhua Chen
- Department of Neurology, Medical Research Institute, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Ziyi Lei
- Department of Neurology, Medical Research Institute, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yuanxia Wang
- Department of Neurology, Medical Research Institute, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jiaze Liu
- Department of Neurology, Medical Research Institute, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Xin Wen
- College of Life Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Fang Xu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Pu Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
- TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Zhengxing Wu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Youngnam N Jin
- Department of Neurology, Medical Research Institute, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
| | - Yanxun V Yu
- Department of Neurology, Medical Research Institute, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
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2
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Zhang Y, Iino Y, Schafer WR. Behavioral plasticity. Genetics 2024; 228:iyae105. [PMID: 39158469 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyae105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Behavioral plasticity allows animals to modulate their behavior based on experience and environmental conditions. Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits experience-dependent changes in its behavioral responses to various modalities of sensory cues, including odorants, salts, temperature, and mechanical stimulations. Most of these forms of behavioral plasticity, such as adaptation, habituation, associative learning, and imprinting, are shared with other animals. The C. elegans nervous system is considerably tractable for experimental studies-its function can be characterized and manipulated with molecular genetic methods, its activity can be visualized and analyzed with imaging approaches, and the connectivity of its relatively small number of neurons are well described. Therefore, C. elegans provides an opportunity to study molecular, neuronal, and circuit mechanisms underlying behavioral plasticity that are either conserved in other animals or unique to this species. These findings reveal insights into how the nervous system interacts with the environmental cues to generate behavioral changes with adaptive values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yun Zhang
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Yuichi Iino
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
| | - William R Schafer
- Neurobiology Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB2 0QH, UK
- Department of Biology, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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3
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Vidal-Saez MS, Vilarroya O, Garcia-Ojalvo J. A multiscale sensorimotor model of experience-dependent behavior in a minimal organism. Biophys J 2024; 123:1654-1667. [PMID: 38815587 PMCID: PMC11213988 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
To survive in ever-changing environments, living organisms need to continuously combine the ongoing external inputs they receive, representing present conditions, with their dynamical internal state, which includes influences of past experiences. It is still unclear in general, however 1) how this happens at the molecular and cellular levels and 2) how the corresponding molecular and cellular processes are integrated with the behavioral responses of the organism. Here, we address these issues by modeling mathematically a particular behavioral paradigm in a minimal model organism, namely chemotaxis in the nematode C. elegans. Specifically, we use a long-standing collection of elegant experiments on salt chemotaxis in this animal, in which the migration direction varies depending on its previous experience. Our model integrates the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels to reproduce the experimentally observed experience-dependent behavior. The model proposes specific molecular mechanisms for the encoding of current conditions and past experiences in key neurons associated with this response, predicting the behavior of various mutants associated with those molecular circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Sol Vidal-Saez
- Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Oscar Vilarroya
- Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain; Hospital del Mar Research Institute (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Garcia-Ojalvo
- Department of Medicine and Life Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
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4
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Nicoletti M, Chiodo L, Loppini A, Liu Q, Folli V, Ruocco G, Filippi S. Biophysical modeling of the whole-cell dynamics of C. elegans motor and interneurons families. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0298105. [PMID: 38551921 PMCID: PMC10980225 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024] Open
Abstract
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a widely used model organism for neuroscience. Although its nervous system has been fully reconstructed, the physiological bases of single-neuron functioning are still poorly explored. Recently, many efforts have been dedicated to measuring signals from C. elegans neurons, revealing a rich repertoire of dynamics, including bistable responses, graded responses, and action potentials. Still, biophysical models able to reproduce such a broad range of electrical responses lack. Realistic electrophysiological descriptions started to be developed only recently, merging gene expression data with electrophysiological recordings, but with a large variety of cells yet to be modeled. In this work, we contribute to filling this gap by providing biophysically accurate models of six classes of C. elegans neurons, the AIY, RIM, and AVA interneurons, and the VA, VB, and VD motor neurons. We test our models by comparing computational and experimental time series and simulate knockout neurons, to identify the biophysical mechanisms at the basis of inter and motor neuron functioning. Our models represent a step forward toward the modeling of C. elegans neuronal networks and virtual experiments on the nematode nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Nicoletti
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science (CLN2S@Sapienza), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy
| | - Letizia Chiodo
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandro Loppini
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Qiang Liu
- Department of Neuroscience, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Viola Folli
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science (CLN2S@Sapienza), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy
- D-tails s.r.l., Rome, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Ruocco
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science (CLN2S@Sapienza), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy
| | - Simonetta Filippi
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Ottica del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR-INO), Florence, Italy
- ICRANet—International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics Network, Pescara, Italy
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5
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Toyoshima Y, Sato H, Nagata D, Kanamori M, Jang MS, Kuze K, Oe S, Teramoto T, Iwasaki Y, Yoshida R, Ishihara T, Iino Y. Ensemble dynamics and information flow deduction from whole-brain imaging data. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1011848. [PMID: 38489379 PMCID: PMC10942262 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The recent advancements in large-scale activity imaging of neuronal ensembles offer valuable opportunities to comprehend the process involved in generating brain activity patterns and understanding how information is transmitted between neurons or neuronal ensembles. However, existing methodologies for extracting the underlying properties that generate overall dynamics are still limited. In this study, we applied previously unexplored methodologies to analyze time-lapse 3D imaging (4D imaging) data of head neurons of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. By combining time-delay embedding with the independent component analysis, we successfully decomposed whole-brain activities into a small number of component dynamics. Through the integration of results from multiple samples, we extracted common dynamics from neuronal activities that exhibit apparent divergence across different animals. Notably, while several components show common cooperativity across samples, some component pairs exhibited distinct relationships between individual samples. We further developed time series prediction models of synaptic communications. By combining dimension reduction using the general framework, gradient kernel dimension reduction, and probabilistic modeling, the overall relationships of neural activities were incorporated. By this approach, the stochastic but coordinated dynamics were reproduced in the simulated whole-brain neural network. We found that noise in the nervous system is crucial for generating realistic whole-brain dynamics. Furthermore, by evaluating synaptic interaction properties in the models, strong interactions within the core neural circuit, variable sensory transmission and importance of gap junctions were inferred. Virtual optogenetics can be also performed using the model. These analyses provide a solid foundation for understanding information flow in real neural networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Toyoshima
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hirofumi Sato
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Daiki Nagata
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Manami Kanamori
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Moon Sun Jang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Koyo Kuze
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Suzu Oe
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Takayuki Teramoto
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yuishi Iwasaki
- Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ibaraki University, Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Ryo Yoshida
- The Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Research Organization of Information and Systems, Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takeshi Ishihara
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yuichi Iino
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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6
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Li R, Xu Y, Wen X, Chen YH, Wang PZ, Zhao JL, Wu PP, Wu JJ, Liu H, Huang JH, Li SJ, Wu ZX. GCY-20 signaling controls suppression of Caenorhabditis elegans egg laying by moderate cold. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113708. [PMID: 38294902 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Organisms sensing environmental cues and internal states and integrating the sensory information to control fecundity are essential for survival and proliferation. The present study finds that a moderate cold temperature of 11°C reduces egg laying in Caenorhabditis elegans. ASEL and AWC neurons sense the cold via GCY-20 signaling and act antagonistically on egg laying through the ASEL and AWC/AIA/HSN circuits. Upon cold stimulation, ASEL and AWC release glutamate to activate and inhibit AIA interneurons by acting on highly and lowly sensitive ionotropic GLR-2 and GLC-3 receptors, respectively. AIA inhibits HSN motor neuron activity via acetylcholinergic ACR-14 receptor signaling and suppresses egg laying. Thus, ASEL and AWC initiate and reduce the cold suppression of egg laying. ASEL's action on AIA and egg laying dominates AWC's action. The biased opposite actions of these neurons on egg laying provide animals with a precise adaptation of reproductive behavior to environmental temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Yu Xu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Xin Wen
- College of Life Science, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
| | - Yuan-Hua Chen
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Ping-Zhou Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jia-Lu Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Piao-Ping Wu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jing-Jing Wu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Hui Liu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jia-Hao Huang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Si-Jia Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Zheng-Xing Wu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of Ministry of Education, Institute of Biophysics and Biochemistry, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
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7
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Li Y, Chitturi J, Yu B, Zhang Y, Wu J, Ti P, Hung W, Zhen M, Gao S. UBR-1 ubiquitin ligase regulates the balance between GABAergic and glutamatergic signaling. EMBO Rep 2023; 24:e57014. [PMID: 37811674 PMCID: PMC10626437 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202357014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance is carefully maintained by the nervous system. The neurotransmitter GABA has been reported to be co-released with its sole precursor, the neurotransmitter glutamate. The genetic and circuitry mechanisms to establish the balance between GABAergic and glutamatergic signaling have not been fully elucidated. Caenorhabditis elegans DVB is an excitatory GABAergic motoneuron that drives the expulsion step in the defecation motor program. We show here that in addition to UNC-47, the vesicular GABA transporter, DVB also expresses EAT-4, a vesicular glutamate transporter. UBR-1, a conserved ubiquitin ligase, regulates DVB activity by suppressing a bidirectional inhibitory glutamate signaling. Loss of UBR-1 impairs DVB Ca2+ activity and expulsion frequency. These impairments are fully compensated by the knockdown of EAT-4 in DVB. Further, glutamate-gated chloride channels GLC-3 and GLC-2/4 receive DVB's glutamate signals to inhibit DVB and enteric muscle activity, respectively. These results implicate an intrinsic cellular mechanism that promotes the inherent asymmetric neural activity. We propose that elevated glutamate in ubr-1 mutants, being the cause of the E/I shift, potentially contributes to Johanson Blizzard syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Li
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and TechnologyHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Jyothsna Chitturi
- Lunenfeld‐Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai HospitalUniversity of TorontoTorontoONCanada
| | - Bin Yu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and TechnologyHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Yongning Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and TechnologyHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Jing Wu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and TechnologyHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Panpan Ti
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and TechnologyHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Wesley Hung
- Lunenfeld‐Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai HospitalUniversity of TorontoTorontoONCanada
| | - Mei Zhen
- Lunenfeld‐Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai HospitalUniversity of TorontoTorontoONCanada
| | - Shangbang Gao
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and TechnologyHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
- Key Laboratory of Vascular Aging of the Ministry of Education, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical CollegeHuazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
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8
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Gat A, Pechuk V, Peedikayil-Kurien S, Karimi S, Goldman G, Sela S, Lubliner J, Krieg M, Oren-Suissa M. Integration of spatially opposing cues by a single interneuron guides decision-making in C. elegans. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113075. [PMID: 37691148 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The capacity of animals to respond to hazardous stimuli in their surroundings is crucial for their survival. In mammals, complex evaluations of the environment require large numbers and different subtypes of neurons. The nematode C. elegans avoids hazardous chemicals they encounter by reversing their direction of movement. How does the worms' compact nervous system process the spatial information and direct motion change? We show here that a single interneuron, AVA, receives glutamatergic excitatory and inhibitory signals from head and tail sensory neurons, respectively. AVA integrates the spatially distinct and opposing cues, whose output instructs the animal's behavioral decision. We further find that the differential activation of AVA stems from distinct localization of inhibitory and excitatory glutamate-gated receptors along AVA's process and from different threshold sensitivities of the sensory neurons. Our results thus uncover a cellular mechanism that mediates spatial computation of nociceptive cues for efficient decision-making in C. elegans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asaf Gat
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Vladyslava Pechuk
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Sonu Peedikayil-Kurien
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Shadi Karimi
- Neurophotonics and Mechanical Systems Biology, ICFO (Institut de Ciencies Fot'oniques), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gal Goldman
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Sapir Sela
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Jazz Lubliner
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel
| | - Michael Krieg
- Neurophotonics and Mechanical Systems Biology, ICFO (Institut de Ciencies Fot'oniques), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Meital Oren-Suissa
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel; Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
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9
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Tang LTH, Lee GA, Cook SJ, Ho J, Potter CC, Bülow HE. Anatomical restructuring of a lateralized neural circuit during associative learning by asymmetric insulin signaling. Curr Biol 2023; 33:3835-3850.e6. [PMID: 37591249 PMCID: PMC10639090 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
Studies of neuronal connectivity in model organisms, i.e., of their connectomes, have been instrumental in dissecting the structure-function relationship of nervous systems. However, the limited sample size of these studies has impeded analyses into how variation of connectivity across populations may influence circuit architecture and behavior. Moreover, little is known about how experiences induce changes in circuit architecture. Here, we show that an asymmetric salt-sensing circuit in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits variation that predicts the animals' salt preferences and undergoes restructuring during salt associative learning. Naive worms memorize and prefer the salt concentration they experience in the presence of food through a left-biased neural network architecture. However, animals conditioned at elevated salt concentrations change this left-biased network to a right-biased network. This change in circuit architecture occurs through the addition of new synapses in response to asymmetric, paracrine insulin signaling. Therefore, experience-dependent changes in an animal's neural connectome are induced by insulin signaling and are fundamental to learning and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leo T H Tang
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
| | - Garrett A Lee
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Steven J Cook
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Jacquelin Ho
- Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Cassandra C Potter
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Hannes E Bülow
- Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA; Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
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10
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Tomioka M, Umemura Y, Ueoka Y, Chin R, Katae K, Uchiyama C, Ike Y, Iino Y. Antagonistic regulation of salt and sugar chemotaxis plasticity by a single chemosensory neuron in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010637. [PMID: 37669262 PMCID: PMC10503759 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans memorizes various external chemicals, such as ions and odorants, during feeding. Here we find that C. elegans is attracted to the monosaccharides glucose and fructose after exposure to these monosaccharides in the presence of food; however, it avoids them without conditioning. The attraction to glucose requires a gustatory neuron called ASEL. ASEL activity increases when glucose concentration decreases. Optogenetic ASEL stimulation promotes forward movements; however, after glucose conditioning, it promotes turning, suggesting that after glucose conditioning, the behavioral output of ASEL activation switches toward glucose. We previously reported that chemotaxis toward sodium ion (Na+), which is sensed by ASEL, increases after Na+ conditioning in the presence of food. Interestingly, glucose conditioning decreases Na+ chemotaxis, and conversely, Na+ conditioning decreases glucose chemotaxis, suggesting the reciprocal inhibition of learned chemotaxis to distinct chemicals. The activation of PKC-1, an nPKC ε/η ortholog, in ASEL promotes glucose chemotaxis and decreases Na+ chemotaxis after glucose conditioning. Furthermore, genetic screening identified ENSA-1, an ortholog of the protein phosphatase inhibitor ARPP-16/19, which functions in parallel with PKC-1 in glucose-induced chemotactic learning toward distinct chemicals. These findings suggest that kinase-phosphatase signaling regulates the balance between learned behaviors based on glucose conditioning in ASEL, which might contribute to migration toward chemical compositions where the animals were previously fed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro Tomioka
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yusuke Umemura
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yutaro Ueoka
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Risshun Chin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Keita Katae
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chihiro Uchiyama
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yasuaki Ike
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuichi Iino
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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11
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Pritz C, Itskovits E, Bokman E, Ruach R, Gritsenko V, Nelken T, Menasherof M, Azulay A, Zaslaver A. Principles for coding associative memories in a compact neural network. eLife 2023; 12:e74434. [PMID: 37140557 PMCID: PMC10159626 DOI: 10.7554/elife.74434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
A major goal in neuroscience is to elucidate the principles by which memories are stored in a neural network. Here, we have systematically studied how four types of associative memories (short- and long-term memories, each as positive and negative associations) are encoded within the compact neural network of Caenorhabditis elegans worms. Interestingly, sensory neurons were primarily involved in coding short-term, but not long-term, memories, and individual sensory neurons could be assigned to coding either the conditioned stimulus or the experience valence (or both). Moreover, when considering the collective activity of the sensory neurons, the specific training experiences could be decoded. Interneurons integrated the modulated sensory inputs and a simple linear combination model identified the experience-specific modulated communication routes. The widely distributed memory suggests that integrated network plasticity, rather than changes to individual neurons, underlies the fine behavioral plasticity. This comprehensive study reveals basic memory-coding principles and highlights the central roles of sensory neurons in memory formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian Pritz
- Department of Genetics, Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
| | - Eyal Itskovits
- Department of Genetics, Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
| | - Eduard Bokman
- Department of Genetics, Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
| | - Rotem Ruach
- Department of Genetics, Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
| | - Vladimir Gritsenko
- Department of Genetics, Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
| | - Tal Nelken
- Department of Genetics, Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
| | - Mai Menasherof
- Department of Genetics, Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
| | - Aharon Azulay
- Department of Genetics, Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
| | - Alon Zaslaver
- Department of Genetics, Silberman Institute for Life Sciences, Edmond J. Safra Campus, The Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
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Tang LTH, Lee GA, Cook SJ, Ho J, Potter CC, Bülow HE. Restructuring of an asymmetric neural circuit during associative learning. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.12.523604. [PMID: 36711870 PMCID: PMC9882173 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.12.523604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Asymmetric brain function is common across the animal kingdom and involved in language processing, and likely in learning and memory. What regulates asymmetric brain function remains elusive. Here, we show that the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans restructures an asymmetric salt sensing neural circuit during associative learning. Worms memorize and prefer the salt concentration at which they were raised in the presence of food through a left-biased network architecture. When conditioned at elevated salt concentrations, animals change the left-biased to a right-biased network, which explains the changed salt-seeking behavior. The changes in circuit architecture require new synapse formation induced through asymmetric, paracrine insulin-signaling. Therefore, experience-dependent changes in asymmetric network architecture rely on paracrine insulin signaling and are fundamental to learning and behavior.
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13
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Mabardi L, Sato H, Toyoshima Y, Iino Y, Kunitomo H. Different modes of stimuli delivery elicit changes in glutamate driven, experience-dependent interneuron response in C. elegans. Neurosci Res 2023; 186:33-42. [PMID: 36252701 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2022.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Memory-related neuronal responses are often elicited by sensory stimuli that recapitulate previous experience. Despite the importance of this sensory input processing, its underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Caenorhabditis elegans chemotax towards salt concentrations experienced in the presence of food. The amphid sensory neurons ASE-left and ASE-right respond to increases and decreases of ambient salt concentration in opposite manners. AIA, AIB and AIY interneurons are post-synaptic to the ASE pair and are thought to be involved in the processing of salt information transmitted from ASE. However, it remains elusive how the responses of these interneurons are regulated by stimulus patterns. Here we show that AIY interneurons display an experience-dependent response to gradual salt concentration changes but not to abrupt stepwise concentration changes. Animals with AIY intact (but AIA and AIB ablated) chemotax towards low salt concentrations similarly to wild-type animals after cultivation with low salt. ASE neurons transmit salt information about the environment through glutamatergic signaling, directing the activity of the interneurons AIY that promote movement towards favorable conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Llian Mabardi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hirofumi Sato
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yu Toyoshima
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuichi Iino
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Hirofumi Kunitomo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan.
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14
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Yu YV, Xue W, Chen Y. Multisensory Integration in Caenorhabditis elegans in Comparison to Mammals. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12101368. [PMID: 36291302 PMCID: PMC9599712 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12101368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Multisensory integration refers to sensory inputs from different sensory modalities being processed simultaneously to produce a unitary output. Surrounded by stimuli from multiple modalities, animals utilize multisensory integration to form a coherent and robust representation of the complex environment. Even though multisensory integration is fundamentally essential for animal life, our understanding of the underlying mechanisms, especially at the molecular, synaptic and circuit levels, remains poorly understood. The study of sensory perception in Caenorhabditis elegans has begun to fill this gap. We have gained a considerable amount of insight into the general principles of sensory neurobiology owing to C. elegans’ highly sensitive perceptions, relatively simple nervous system, ample genetic tools and completely mapped neural connectome. Many interesting paradigms of multisensory integration have been characterized in C. elegans, for which input convergence occurs at the sensory neuron or the interneuron level. In this narrative review, we describe some representative cases of multisensory integration in C. elegans, summarize the underlying mechanisms and compare them with those in mammalian systems. Despite the differences, we believe C. elegans is able to provide unique insights into how processing and integrating multisensory inputs can generate flexible and adaptive behaviors. With the emergence of whole brain imaging, the ability of C. elegans to monitor nearly the entire nervous system may be crucial for understanding the function of the brain as a whole.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanxun V. Yu
- Department of Neurology, Medical Research Institute, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Frontier Science Center for Immunology and Metabolism, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430070, China
- Correspondence: or
| | - Weikang Xue
- Department of Neurology, Medical Research Institute, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Yuanhua Chen
- Department of Neurology, Medical Research Institute, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430070, China
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15
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Molecular encoding and synaptic decoding of context during salt chemotaxis in C. elegans. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2928. [PMID: 35624091 PMCID: PMC9142520 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30279-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals navigate toward favorable locations using various environmental cues. However, the mechanism of how the goal information is encoded and decoded to generate migration toward the appropriate direction has not been clarified. Here, we describe the mechanism of migration towards a learned concentration of NaCl in Caenorhabditis elegans. In the salt-sensing neuron ASER, the difference between the experienced and currently perceived NaCl concentration is encoded as phosphorylation at Ser65 of UNC-64/Syntaxin 1 A through the protein kinase C(PKC-1) signaling pathway. The phosphorylation affects basal glutamate transmission from ASER, inducing the reversal of the postsynaptic response of reorientation-initiating neurons (i.e., from inhibitory to excitatory), guiding the animals toward the experienced concentration. This process, the decoding of the context, is achieved through the differential sensitivity of postsynaptic excitatory and inhibitory receptors. Our results reveal the mechanism of migration based on the synaptic plasticity that conceptually differs from the classical ones. The nematode C. elegans moves around to find an optimal environment. This work demonstrates how it can detect and move towards a previously learned salinity using the salt-sensing neuron ASER.
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Searching for the principles of a less artificial A.I. INFORMATICS IN MEDICINE UNLOCKED 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.imu.2022.101018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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Sato H, Kunitomo H, Fei X, Hashimoto K, Iino Y. Simultaneous recording of behavioral and neural responses of free-moving nematodes C. elegans. STAR Protoc 2021; 2:101011. [PMID: 34917983 PMCID: PMC8669343 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.101011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
To reveal the neural mechanisms that control animal behavior, it is necessary to link the neural responses to behavioral changes and interpret them. We have developed a protocol to simultaneously record the behavior and neural activity of freely moving C. elegans by combining a microfluidic device and a tracking stage. Here we detail the protocol for the experiment, with an example of behavioral and neural responses of nematodes to salt concentration changes. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Sato et al. (2021). Simultaneous recording of neural responses and behavior of freely moving C. elegans A format for efficiently analyzing behavior and neural activity in salt chemotaxis Using microfluidic devices to manipulate the magnitude and timing of stimulation Applicable to behavioral analysis for various stimuli
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Affiliation(s)
- Hirofumi Sato
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hirofumi Kunitomo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Xianfeng Fei
- Department of Intelligent Information, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University, 981-8551 Sendai, Japan
| | - Koichi Hashimoto
- Department of System Information Sciences, Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University, 980-8579 Sendai, Japan
| | - Yuichi Iino
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan
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