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PMID: 12832557 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Reversal frequency in Caenorhabditis elegans represents an integrated response to the state of the animal and its environment.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience ·Vol. 23 ·No. 12 ·2003-06-15 ·Pages 5319-28

Zhao B, Khare P, Feldman L, Dent JA

Abstract

The locomotion of Caenorhabditis elegans consists of forward crawling punctuated by spontaneous reversals. To better understand the important variables that affect locomotion, we have described in detail the locomotory behavior of C. elegans and identified a set of parameters that are sufficient to describe the animal's trajectory. A model of locomotion based on these parameters indicates that reversal frequency plays a central role in locomotion. We found that several variables such as humidity, gravidity, and mechanostimulation influence reversal frequency. Specifically, both gentle and harsh touch can transiently suppress reversal frequency. Thus, reversal behavior is a model for the integration of information from numerous modalities reflecting diverse aspects of the state of an organism.

MeSH Terms
Animals Behavior, Animal/physiology Caenorhabditis elegans/physiology Computer Simulation Environment Locomotion/physiology Models, Biological Motor Activity/physiology Neuronal Plasticity/physiology Physical Stimulation/methods Stimulation, Chemical Touch/physiology
Authors & Affiliations
4 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Zhao Beibei
Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada.
Khare Parul
Feldman Lisa
Dent Joseph A
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Article Info
Journal
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Abbr.
J Neurosci
ISSN
1529-2401
Published
2003-06-15
Pages
5319-28
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
8102140
PMCID
PMC6741178
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source PMC Full Text View journal details
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