Contrasting responses within a single neuron class enable sex-specific attraction in
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Narayan-2016-Contrasting response.pdf
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Author(s)
Narayan, Anusha
Venkatachalam, Vivek
Durak, Omer
Reilly, Douglas K.
Bose, Neelanjan
Schroeder, Frank C.
Samuel, Aravinthan D. T.
Srinivasan, Jagan
Sternberg, Paul W.
Date Issued
February 2016
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Citation
Narayan, Anusha; Venkatachalam, Vivek; Durak, Omer; Reilly, Douglas K.; Bose, Neelanjan; Schroeder, Frank C.; Samuel, Aravinthan D. T.; Srinivasan, Jagan and Sternberg, Paul W. “ Contrasting Responses Within a Single Neuron Class Enable Sex-Specific Attraction in Caenorhabditis Elegans .” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 113, no. 10 (February 22, 2016): E1392–E1401.© 2016 National Academy of Sciences.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Animals find mates and food, and avoid predators, by navigating to regions within a favorable range of available sensory cues. How are these ranges set and recognized? Here we show that male Caenorhabditis elegans exhibit strong concentration preferences for sex-specific small molecule cues secreted by hermaphrodites, and that these preferences emerge from the collective dynamics of a single male-specific class of neurons, the cephalic sensory neurons (CEMs). Within a single worm, CEM responses are dissimilar, not determined by anatomical classification and can be excitatory or inhibitory. Response kinetics vary by concentration, suggesting a mechanism for establishing preferences. CEM responses are enhanced in the absence of synaptic transmission, and worms with only one intact CEM show nonpreferential attraction to all concentrations of ascaroside for which CEM is the primary sensor, suggesting that synaptic modulation of CEM responses is necessary for establishing preferences. A heterogeneous concentration-dependent sensory representation thus appears to allow a single neural class to set behavioral preferences and recognize ranges of sensory cues.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1600786113
