Calcium dynamics regulating the timing of decision-making in C. elegans

eLife

Karl Emanuel Busch¹  Yosuke Miyanishi²  Akiko Yamazoe-Umemoto²  Shuhei J Yamazaki²  Yuya Kawazoe²  Koutarou D Kimura²  Yuki Tanimoto²  Kosuke Fujita²  Yuichi Iino³  Yuishi Iwasaki⁴  Xianfeng Fei⁵  Koichi Hashimoto⁶  Keiko Gengyo-Ando⁷  Junichi Nakai⁷ 

[1] Centre for Integrative Physiology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom;Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Japan;Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan;Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Ibaraki University, Hitachi, Japan;Faculty of Science and Technology, Tohoku Bunka Gakuen University, Sendai, Japan;Graduate School of Information Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan;Graduate Shool of Science and Engineering, Brain and Body System Science Institute, Saitama University, Saitama, Japan;

关键词: calcium imaging;    mathematical modeling;    olfaction;    navigation;    molecular genetics;    decision-making;   

DOI  :  10.7554/eLife.21629

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Brains regulate behavioral responses with distinct timings. Here we investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the timing of decision-making during olfactory navigation in Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that, based on subtle changes in odor concentrations, the animals appear to choose the appropriate migratory direction from multiple trials as a form of behavioral decision-making. Through optophysiological, mathematical and genetic analyses of neural activity under virtual odor gradients, we further find that odor concentration information is temporally integrated for a decision by a gradual increase in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i), which occurs via L-type voltage-gated calcium channels in a pair of olfactory neurons. In contrast, for a reflex-like behavioral response, [Ca2+]i rapidly increases via multiple types of calcium channels in a pair of nociceptive neurons. Thus, the timing of neuronal responses is determined by cell type-dependent involvement of calcium channels, which may serve as a cellular basis for decision-making.

【 授权许可】

Unknown