This research seeks to understand how the activities of individual neurons combine together in defined circuits to generate the behavioral output of the nervous system. The behavior to be studied is the copulatory behavior of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans male. Using reconstruction from serial section electron micrographs, the complete pattern of synaptic connectivity has been determined for the region of the male nervous system that generates copulatory behavior. This neuropil contains the processes of 175 neurons connected by some 8000 synapses (4000 chemical, 4000 electrical). The wiring diagram, which consists of a complex network of interactions, serves as the basis for examining the role of individual neurons in generating behavioral output. C. elegans male copulatory behavior consists of a series of sub-behaviors executed according to sensory input to allow the male to insert hardened spicules into the hermaphrodite vulva and transfer sperm. Neurons have been identified that by their pattern of connectivity appear to be associated with each of these sub-behaviors. We will test our hypothesis for the function of these neurons by eliminating them from the circuit by cell killing. The behavioral deficit that results will indicate the role of the neuron in the circuit. An important question to be addressed is whether the network contains circuits or modules dedicated to specific sub-behaviors or instead have a distributed type of architecture, generating multiple behaviors as alternative modes of function of the whole. To assess the relative importance of chemical and electrical communication within the network, the neurotransmitters utilized will be determined. Chemical neurotransmission will be blocked using mutants or through cell-specific RNAi approaches to reveal the function of the electrical circuit. The wiring diagram contains a repeated network motif in which a sensory neuron and an interneuron are connected both directly and via a pair of interneurons that is common to all, forming a triangular circuit. This motif may have one of several possible influences on the function of the network, depending on whether the common neuron pair is excitatory or inhibitory on the interneuron. In order to determine the functional characteristics of this motif, the neurotransmitter and receptor types in the circuit will be determined and the result of activating or inhibiting the circuit will be determined.

Public Health Relevance

Focusing on a region of the nervous system of the invertebrate genetic model animal Caenorhabditis elegans where the complete pattern of synaptic connectivity has been recently determined, the function of individual neurons in a completely defined neural network will be examined in order to understand how circuits in the nervous system generate complex animal behavior.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01GM066897-05A2
Application #
7783476
Study Section
Neuroendocrinology, Neuroimmunology, and Behavior Study Section (NNB)
Program Officer
Tompkins, Laurie
Project Start
2003-08-01
Project End
2013-11-30
Budget Start
2009-12-15
Budget End
2010-11-30
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$315,400
Indirect Cost
Name
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Department
Genetics
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
110521739
City
Bronx
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10461
Lázaro-Peña, María I; Díaz-Balzac, Carlos A; Bülow, Hannes E et al. (2018) Synaptogenesis Is Modulated by Heparan Sulfate in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 209:195-208
Kim, Byunghyuk; Emmons, Scott W (2017) Multiple conserved cell adhesion protein interactions mediate neural wiring of a sensory circuit in C. elegans. Elife 6:
Emmons, Scott W (2017) Neural Circuitry That Mediates Behavior Governing the Tradeoffs Between Survival and Reproduction in Caenorhabditis elegans. Integr Comp Biol 57:1161-1165
Emmons, Scott W (2016) Connectomics, the Final Frontier. Curr Top Dev Biol 116:315-30
Kim, Byunghyuk; Suo, Bangxia; Emmons, Scott W (2016) Gene Function Prediction Based on Developmental Transcriptomes of the Two Sexes in C. elegans. Cell Rep 17:917-928
Desbois, Muriel; Cook, Steven J; Emmons, Scott W et al. (2015) Directional Trans-Synaptic Labeling of Specific Neuronal Connections in Live Animals. Genetics 200:697-705
Emmons, Scott W (2015) The beginning of connectomics: a commentary on White et al. (1986) 'The structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans'. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 370:
Emmons, Scott W (2014) The development of sexual dimorphism: studies of the Caenorhabditis elegans male. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Dev Biol 3:239-62
Barrios, Arantza; Ghosh, Rajarshi; Fang, Chunhui et al. (2012) PDF-1 neuropeptide signaling modulates a neural circuit for mate-searching behavior in C. elegans. Nat Neurosci 15:1675-82
Barrios, Arantza; Nurrish, Stephen; Emmons, Scott W (2008) Sensory regulation of C. elegans male mate-searching behavior. Curr Biol 18:1865-71

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