This research addresses the question of how the brain uses sensory information to select the most effective behavior in a given situation. This question is addressed by studying the nematode worm C. elegans, an experimental organism whose compact nervous system of only 302 neurons is unusually well suited to investigating relationships between brain activity and behavior. The main focus of the research is to build and test a computer model of the nematode's neural network for chemotaxis, a simple yet widespread form of spatial orientation behavior in which an animal finds food, shelter, or a mating partner by directing its locomotion toward the source of an odor or taste. The model will be used to test the idea that the nematode's chemotaxis network utilizes separate neuronal pathways to signal increases and decreases in sensory input, much like the visual system in higher organism, including humans, and should provide new insights into how neural networks function to control adaptive behaviors.
Nematode chemotaxis is accessible to young scientists and the lay public alike. The PI hosts visiting undergraduates and high school students from underrepresented groups. University undergraduates have participated in this project from its beginning and will continue to do so. These researchers (currently two Honors College students and two freshman) do real science, including laser ablation of neurons and quantitative assessment of behavior. Simplified versions of the models developed in NSF-sponsored research are a prominent unit of the PI's course in computational neuroscience.
