Caenorhabditis elegans: A new model system for the study of learning and memory

Rankin, Catharine H.; Beck, Christine; Chiba, Catherine M.

doi:10.1016/0166-4328(90)90074-o

Cited by 250 publications

(195 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

190

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Forces as small as 100 nN generated MRCs, and increasing the amount of force increased the amplitude of the current (responses saturated for forces exceeding 1-2 μN) [57]. Although worms habituate to repeated gentle touch and plate tap [12,60], the size of the MRCs did not decrease with repeated stimuli, suggesting that habituation occurs subsequent to the generation of the MRC. Finally, the MRCs were carried primarily by Na + and were reversibly blocked by amiloride, as expected if they require the MEC-4/MEC-10 DEG/ENaC channel [57].…”

Section: Mechanoreceptor Current and Calcium Influxmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The response to gentle touch decreases as C. elegans is repeatedly touched [12,60]. This phenomenon is known as habituation.…”

Section: Habituationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Plate tap causes mature animals to reverse, and the frequency and distance of reversals diminish progressively with repeated taps. By measuring the distance of the reversals, habituation of the tap withdrawal response can be quantified [60]. This habituation depends on the frequency of the stimuli; animals habituate faster and more completely if taps are presented at a short interstimulus interval (ISI), such as every 2 s, than if taps are presented at a longer intervals, such as 1 min [61].…”

Section: Habituationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Touch sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Bounoutas

Chalfie

2007

Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans was the first organism for which touch insensitive mutants were obtained. The study of the genes defective in these mutants has led to the identification of components of a mechanosensory complex needed for specific cells to sense gentle touch to the body. Multiple approaches using genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, and electrophysiology have characterized a channel complex, containing two DEG/ENaC pore-forming subunits and several other proteins, that transduces the touch response. Other mechanical responses, sensed by other cells using a variety of other components, are less well understood in C. elegans. Many of these other senses may use TRP channels, although DEG/ENaC channels have also been implicated.

show abstract

Section: Mechanoreceptor Current and Calcium Influxmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The response to gentle touch decreases as C. elegans is repeatedly touched [12,60]. This phenomenon is known as habituation.…”

Section: Habituationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Habituationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Touch sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Bounoutas

Chalfie

2007

Pflugers Arch - Eur J Physiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…1(A)]. Continued mechanical stimulation by tapping leads to habituation of the touch response (Rankin et al, 1990). Being a consequence of the application of only a single type of stimulus, this response is a classic nonassociative learning paradigm.…”

Section: Mechanosensory Habituationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral plasticity in C. elegans: Paradigms, circuits, genes

2002

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Life in the soil is an intellectual and practical challenge that the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans masters by utilizing 302 neurons. The nervous system assembled by these 302 neurons is capable of executing a variety of behaviors, some of respectable complexity. The simplicity of the nervous system, its thoroughly characterized structure, several sets of welldefined behaviors, and its genetic amenability combined with its isogenic background make C. elegans an attractive model organism to study the genetics of behavior. This review describes several behavioral plasticity paradigms in C. elegans and their underlying neuronal circuits and then goes on to review the forward genetic analysis that has been undertaken to identify genes involved in the execution of these behaviors. Lastly, the review outlines how reverse genetics and genomic approaches can guide the analysis of the role of genes in behavior and why and how they will complement the forward genetic analysis of behavior.

show abstract

“…Exposure to a few training stimuli can lead to long-lasting memories in organisms with even the simplest of nervous systems such as nematodes (Rankin et al 1990), Drosophila (DeZazzo and Tully 1995), and mollusks (Carew et al 1972). Nevertheless a clear and comprehensive understanding of the processes underlying long-term memory formation has not yet been achieved.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Retention Explained by a Model of Short-Term Learning in the Adaptive Control of Reaching

Joiner¹,

Smith

2008

Journal of Neurophysiology

177

203

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Joiner WM, Smith MA. Long-term retention explained by a model of short-term learning in the adaptive control of reaching. J Neurophysiol 100: 2948 -2955, 2008. First published September 10, 2008 doi:10.1152/jn.90706.2008. Extensive theoretical, psychophysical, and neurobiological work has focused on the mechanisms by which short-term learning develops into long-term memory. Better understanding of these mechanisms may lead to the ability to improve the efficiency of training procedures. A key phenomenon in the formation of long-term memory is the effect of over learning on retentiondiscovered by Ebbinghaus in 1885: when the initial training period in a task is prolonged even beyond what is necessary for good immediate recall, long-term retention improves. Although this over learning effect has received considerable attention as a phenomenon in psychology research, the mechanisms governing this process are not well understood, and the ability to predict the benefit conveyed by varying degrees of over learning does not yet exist. Here we studied the relationship between the duration of an initial training period and the amount of retention 24 h later for the adaptation of human reaching arm movements to a novel force environment. We show that in this motor adaptation task, the amount of long-term retention is predicted not by the overall performance level achieved during the training period but rather by the level of a specific component process in a multi-rate model of short-term memory formation. These findings indicate that while multiple learning processes determine the ability to learn a motor adaptation, only one provides a gateway to long-term memory formation. Understanding the dynamics of this key learning process may allow for the rational design of training and rehabilitation paradigms that maximize the long-term benefit of each session.

show abstract

Caenorhabditis elegans: A new model system for the study of learning and memory

Cited by 250 publications

References 15 publications

Touch sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Touch sensitivity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Behavioral plasticity in C. elegans: Paradigms, circuits, genes

Long-Term Retention Explained by a Model of Short-Term Learning in the Adaptive Control of Reaching

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About