RRC ID 80788
Author Dag U, Nwabudike I, Kang D, Gomes MA, Kim J, Atanas AA, Bueno E, Estrem C, Pugliese S, Wang Z, Towlson E, Flavell SW.
Title Dissecting the functional organization of the C. elegans serotonergic system at whole-brain scale.
Journal Cell
Abstract Serotonin influences many aspects of animal behavior. But how serotonin acts on its diverse receptors across the brain to modulate global activity and behavior is unknown. Here, we examine how serotonin release in C. elegans alters brain-wide activity to induce foraging behaviors, like slow locomotion and increased feeding. Comprehensive genetic analyses identify three core serotonin receptors (MOD-1, SER-4, and LGC-50) that induce slow locomotion upon serotonin release and others (SER-1, SER-5, and SER-7) that interact with them to modulate this behavior. SER-4 induces behavioral responses to sudden increases in serotonin release, whereas MOD-1 induces responses to persistent release. Whole-brain imaging reveals widespread serotonin-associated brain dynamics, spanning many behavioral networks. We map all sites of serotonin receptor expression in the connectome, which, together with synaptic connectivity, helps predict which neurons show serotonin-associated activity. These results reveal how serotonin acts at defined sites across a connectome to modulate brain-wide activity and behavior.
Volume 186(12)
Pages 2574-2592.e20
Published 2023-6-8
DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2023.04.023
PII S0092-8674(23)00419-1
PMID 37192620
PMC PMC10484565
MeSH Animals Behavior, Animal / physiology Brain / metabolism Caenorhabditis elegans* / metabolism Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins* / metabolism Receptors, Serotonin / genetics Receptors, Serotonin / metabolism Serotonin / metabolism
Resource
C.elegans tm2647 tm1325