scholarly journals Natural sensory context drives diverse brain-wide activity during C. elegans mating

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vladislav Susoy ◽  
Wesley Hung ◽  
Daniel Witvliet ◽  
Joshua E. Whitener ◽  
Min Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Behavioral Context ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Behavioral Dynamics ◽  
Brain Circuits ◽  
Natural Context ◽  
Neuronal Imaging ◽  
Complex Sequences ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
The Brain

AbstractNatural goal-directed behaviors often involve complex sequences of many stimulus-triggered components. Understanding how brain circuits organize such behaviors requires mapping the interactions between an animal, its environment, and its nervous system. Here, we use continuous brain-wide neuronal imaging to study the full performance of mating by the C. elegans male. We show that as each mating unfolds in its own sequence of component behaviors, the brain operates similarly between instances of each component, but distinctly between different components. When the full sensory and behavioral context is taken into account, unique roles emerge for each neuron. Functional correlations between neurons are not fixed, but change with behavioral dynamics. From the contribution of individual neurons to circuits, our study shows how diverse brain-wide dynamics emerge from the integration of sensory perception and motor actions within their natural context.

Modularity and Modulation of Locomotor Circuits in Adult Vertebrates

2017 ◽  
pp. 535-544
Author(s):  
Abdeljabbar El Manira
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Continuous Change ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Motor Behaviors ◽  
External Cues ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
The Brain

The compartmentalized organization of the nervous system entails that specific functions are localized in different brain areas and regions of the spinal cord. Dedicated microcircuits in each region/area generate relevant motor behaviors by virtue of their connectivity and dynamic computations, combined with their ability to integrate internal and external cues. The patterns of motor actions are often versatile, with continuous change in speed and coordination as circumstances demand. How this versatility is encoded within microcircuits in the brain and spinal cord is a question that has been difficult to address. Although many mechanisms can contribute, two important tenets underlying this versatility are the modularity and modulation of microcircuits.

scholarly journals Visualizing the organization and differentiation of the male-specific nervous system of C. elegans

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa Tekieli ◽  
Eviatar Yemini ◽  
Amin Nejatbakhsh ◽  
Erdem Varol ◽  
Robert W Fernandez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Just In Time ◽  
Differentiation Markers ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Fourth Larval Stage ◽  
Developmental Patterning ◽  
Male Specific ◽  
Cluster Gene ◽  
The Brain

Sex differences in the brain are prevalent throughout the animal kingdom and particularly well appreciated in the nematode C. elegans. While 294 neurons are shared between the two sexes, the nervous system of the male contains an additional 93 male-specific neurons, most of which have received very little attention so far. To make these neurons amenable for future study, we describe here how a multicolor, multipromoter reporter transgene, NeuroPAL, is capable of visualizing the distinct identities of all male specific neurons. We used this tool to visualize and characterize a number of features of the male-specific nervous system. We provide several proofs of concept for using NeuroPAL to identify the sites of expression of gfp-tagged reporter genes. We demonstrate the usage of NeuroPAL for cellular fate analysis by analyzing the effect of removal of developmental patterning genes, including a HOX cluster gene (egl-5), a miRNA (lin-4) and a proneural gene (lin-32/Ato), on neuronal identity acquisition within the male-specific nervous system. We use NeuroPAL and its intrinsic cohort of more than 40 distinct differentiation markers to show that, even though male-specific neurons are generated throughout all four larval stages, they execute their terminal differentiation program in a coordinated manner in the fourth larval stage that is concomitant with male tale retraction. This wave of differentiation couples neuronal maturation programs with the appearance of sexual organs. We call this wave 'just-in-time' differentiation by its analogy to the mechanism of 'just-in-time' transcription of metabolic pathway genes.

scholarly journals Connectomes across development reveal principles of brain maturation in C. elegans

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Witvliet ◽  
Ben Mulcahy ◽  
James K. Mitchell ◽  
Yaron Meirovitch ◽  
Daniel R. Berger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Brain Maturation ◽  
Wiring Diagram ◽  
Motor Pathways ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Section Electron ◽  
Synaptic Changes ◽  
Serial Section Electron Microscopy ◽  
Synaptic Change ◽  
The Brain

AbstractFrom birth to adulthood, an animal’s nervous system changes as its body grows and its behaviours mature. However, the extent of circuit remodelling across the connectome is poorly understood. Here, we used serial-section electron microscopy to reconstruct the brain of eight isogenic C. elegans individuals at different ages to learn how an entire wiring diagram changes with maturation. We found that the overall geometry of the nervous system is preserved from birth to adulthood, establishing a constant scaffold upon which synaptic change is built. We observed substantial connectivity differences among individuals that make each brain partly unique. We also observed developmental connectivity changes that are consistent between animals but different among neurons, altering the strengths of existing connections and creating additional connections. Collective synaptic changes alter information processing of the brain. Across maturation, the decision-making circuitry is maintained whereas sensory and motor pathways are substantially remodelled, and the brain becomes progressively more modular and feedforward. These synaptic changes reveal principles that underlie brain maturation.

The role of the brain

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Guillery
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Clinical Condition ◽  
The Other ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Sense Organs ◽  
The World ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
The Brain

This chapter introduces two interpretations of how we know about the world. One, the standard, sensory-to-motor view, is that physical actions for sounds, lights, tastes, smells, and so on act on our sense organs to produce messages that are sent through the nervous system to the cerebral cortex, where the relevant structures of the world can be recognized and appropriate motor actions can be initiated. The other is an interactive sensorimotor view where the nervous system records our interactions with the world, abstracting our knowledge about the world from these interactions. These two opposing views have rarely been considered in terms of specific neural pathways or the messages that they carry; that is the plan for this book. Each view leads to different sets of interpretations of experiments and to different sets of research proposals. The final part of the chapter explores a well-studied and widely taught clinical condition that illustrates the confusions that can arise when the dual meaning of the driver messages to the thalamus is not recognized.

scholarly journals Visualizing the organization and differentiation of the male-specific nervous system of C. elegans

Development ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa Tekieli ◽  
Eviatar Yemini ◽  
Amin Nejatbakhsh ◽  
Chen Wang ◽  
Erdem Varol ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Just In Time ◽  
Differentiation Markers ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Neuronal Identity ◽  
Fourth Larval Stage ◽  
Developmental Patterning ◽  
Male Specific ◽  
The Brain

Sex differences in the brain are prevalent throughout the animal kingdom and particularly well appreciated in the nematode C. elegans, where male animals contain a little studied set of 93 male-specific neurons. To make these neurons amenable for future study, we describe here how a multicolor reporter transgene, NeuroPAL, is capable of visualizing the distinct identities of all male specific neurons. We used NeuroPAL to visualize and characterize a number of features of the male-specific nervous system. We provide several proofs of concept for using NeuroPAL to identify the sites of expression of gfp-tagged reporter genes and for cellular fate analysis by analyzing the effect of removal of several developmental patterning genes on neuronal identity acquisition. We use NeuroPAL and its intrinsic cohort of more than 40 distinct differentiation markers to show that, even though male-specific neurons are generated throughout all four larval stages, they execute their terminal differentiation program in a coordinated manner in the fourth larval stage. This coordinated wave of differentiation, which we call “just-in-time" differentiation, couples neuronal maturation programs with the appearance of sexual organs.

scholarly journals Beyond the connectome: A map of a brain architecture derived from whole-brain volumetric reconstructions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Brittin ◽  
Steven J. Cook ◽  
David H. Hall ◽  
Scott W. Emmons ◽  
Netta Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
System Organization ◽  
Nerve Ring ◽  
Behavioral Impairment ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Volumetric Reconstruction ◽  
High Level ◽  
Gap Junctional ◽  
The Brain

ABSTRACTAnimal nervous system organization is crucial for all body functions and its disruption can manifest in severe cognitive and behavioral impairment. This organization relies on features across scales, from nano-level localization of synapses, through multiplicities of neuronal morphologies and their contribution to circuit organization, to the high level stereotyped connections between different regions of the brain. The sheer complexity of this organ means that to date, we have yet to reconstruct and model the structure of a complete nervous system that is integrated across all these scales. Here, we present a complete structure-function model of the nematode C. elegans main neuropil, the nerve ring, which we derive by integrating the volumetric reconstruction from two animals with corresponding synaptic and gap junctional connectomes. Whereas previously the nerve ring was considered a densely packed tract of axons, we uncover internal organization into 5 functional bundles and show how they spatially constrain and support the synaptic connectome. We find that the C. elegans connectome is not invariant, but that a precisely wired core circuit is embedded in a background of variable connectivity, and propose a corresponding reference connectome for the core circuit. Using this reference, we show that the architecture of the C. elegans brain can be viewed as a modular Residual Network that supports sensory computation and integration, sensory-motor convergence, and brain-wide coordination. These findings point to scalable and robust features of brain organization that are likely universal across phyla.

Glucuronyl 3-sulfate occurs exclusively on distal unmyelinated terminals of selected sensory neurons in the peripheral nervous system

1995 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 958-959
Author(s):  
S.S. Spicer ◽  
B.A. Schulte
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Peripheral Nervous System ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Sensory Nerves ◽  
Tissue Antigens ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Leu 7

Generation of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against tissue antigens has yielded several (VC1.1, HNK- 1, L2, 4F4 and anti-leu 7) which recognize the unique sugar epitope, glucuronyl 3-sulfate (Glc A3- SO4). In the central nervous system, these MAbs have demonstrated Glc A3-SO4 at the surface of neurons in the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum, the retina and other widespread regions of the brain.Here we describe the distribution of Glc A3-SO4 in the peripheral nervous system as determined by immunostaining with a MAb (VC 1.1) developed against antigen in the cat visual cortex. Outside the central nervous system, immunoreactivity was observed only in peripheral terminals of selected sensory nerves conducting transduction signals for touch, hearing, balance and taste. On the glassy membrane of the sinus hair in murine nasal skin, just deep to the ringwurt, VC 1.1 delineated an intensely stained, plaque-like area (Fig. 1). This previously unrecognized structure of the nasal vibrissae presumably serves as a tactile end organ and to our knowledge is not demonstrable by means other than its selective immunopositivity with VC1.1 and its appearance as a densely fibrillar area in H&E stained sections.

Ultrastructural morphology of neurosecretory neurons in the barnacle Balanus amphitrite

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-435
Author(s):  
Grazia Tagliafierro ◽  
Cristiana Crosa ◽  
Marco Canepa ◽  
Tiziano Zanin
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Ultrastructural Level ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Balanus Amphitrite ◽  
Neurosecretory Neurons ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Ultrathin Sections ◽  
Dense Core Granules ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Ocellar Nerve

Barnacles are very specialized Crustacea, with strongly reduced head and abdomen. Their nervous system is rather simple: the brain or supra-oesophageal ganglion (SG) is a small bilobed structure and the toracic ganglia are fused into a single ventral mass, the suboesophageal ganglion (VG). Neurosecretion was shown in barnacle nervous system by histochemical methods and numerous putative hormonal substances were extracted and tested. Recently six different types of dense-core granules were visualized in the median ocellar nerve of Balanus hameri and serotonin and FMRF-amide like substances were immunocytochemically detected in the nervous system of Balanus amphitrite. The aim of the present work is to localize and characterize at ultrastructural level, neurosecretory neuron cell bodies in the VG of Balanus amphitrite.Specimens of Balanus amphitrite were collected in the port of Genova. The central nervous system were Karnovsky fixed, osmium postfixed, ethanol dehydrated and Durcupan ACM embedded. Ultrathin sections were stained with uranyl acetate and lead citrate. Ultrastructural observations were made on a Philips M 202 and Zeiss 109 T electron microscopy.

Complex Trauma and Prenatal Alcohol Exposure: Clinical Implications

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 32-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvette D. Hyter
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Academic Outcomes ◽  
Complex Trauma ◽  
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure ◽  
Alcohol Exposure ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Prenatal Alcohol ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Complex trauma resulting from chronic maltreatment and prenatal alcohol exposure can significantly affect child development and academic outcomes. Children with histories of maltreatment and those with prenatal alcohol exposure exhibit remarkably similar central nervous system impairments. In this article, I will review the effects of each on the brain and discuss clinical implications for these populations of children.

Central Nerve System Impairment, AMA Guides, Sixth Edition: An Overview

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-13
Author(s):  
James B. Talmage ◽  
Jay Blaisdell
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Neurological Impairment ◽  
Sixth Edition ◽  
Central Nerve System ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The One ◽  
Nerve System ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Injuries that affect the central nervous system (CNS) can be catastrophic because they involve the brain or spinal cord, and determining the underlying clinical cause of impairment is essential in using the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), in part because the AMA Guides addresses neurological impairment in several chapters. Unlike the musculoskeletal chapters, Chapter 13, The Central and Peripheral Nervous System, does not use grades, grade modifiers, and a net adjustment formula; rather the chapter uses an approach that is similar to that in prior editions of the AMA Guides. The following steps can be used to perform a CNS rating: 1) evaluate all four major categories of cerebral impairment, and choose the one that is most severe; 2) rate the single most severe cerebral impairment of the four major categories; 3) rate all other impairments that are due to neurogenic problems; and 4) combine the rating of the single most severe category of cerebral impairment with the ratings of all other impairments. Because some neurological dysfunctions are rated elsewhere in the AMA Guides, Sixth Edition, the evaluator may consult Table 13-1 to verify the appropriate chapter to use.

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