Integration of spatially opposing cues by a single interneuron guides decision-making in C. elegans

Autor: Asaf Gat, Vladyslava Pechuk, Sonu Peedikayil-Kurien, Shadi Karimi, Gal Goldman, Sapir Sela, Jazz Lubliner, Michael Krieg, Meital Oren-Suissa
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Cell Reports, Vol 42, Iss 9, Pp 113075- (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2211-1247
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113075
Popis: Summary: 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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