Odor-dependent temporal dynamics in Caenorhabitis elegans adaptation and aversive learning behavior

PeerJ

article

Jae Im Choi¹  Hee Kyung Lee¹  Hae Su Kim¹  So Young Park¹  Tong Young Lee¹  Kyoung-hye Yoon¹  Jin I. Lee¹ 

[1] Division of Biological Science and Technology, Yonsei University;Mitohormesis Research Center, Department of Physiology, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University

关键词: Odor;    Memory;    Behavior;    Sensory;    C. elegans;    Smell;    Neuron;    PKG;    Learning;    Adaptation;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.4956

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Animals sense an enormous number of cues in their environments, and, over time, can form learned associations and memories with some of these. The nervous system remarkably maintains the specificity of learning and memory to each of the cues. Here we asked whether the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans adjusts the temporal dynamics of adaptation and aversive learning depending on the specific odor sensed. C. elegans senses a multitude of odors, and adaptation and learned associations to many of these odors requires activity of the cGMP-dependent protein kinase EGL-4 in the AWC sensory neuron. We identified a panel of 17 attractive odors, some of which have not been tested before, and determined that the majority of these odors require the AWC primary sensory neuron for sensation. We then devised a novel assay to assess odor behavior over time for a single population of animals. We used this assay to evaluate the temporal dynamics of adaptation and aversive learning to 13 odors and find that behavior change occurs early in some odors and later in others. We then examined EGL-4 localization in early-trending and late-trending odors over time. We found that the timing of these behavior changes correlated with the timing of nuclear accumulation of EGL-4 in the AWC neuron suggesting that temporal changes in behavior may be mediated by aversive learning mechanisms. We demonstrate that temporal dynamics of adaptation and aversive learning in C. elegans can be used as a model to study the timing of memory formation to different sensory cues.

【 授权许可】

CC BY