Dopamine mediates context-dependent modulation of sensory plasticity in C. elegans.
Neuron
; 55(4): 662-76, 2007 Aug 16.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-17698017
ABSTRACT
Dopamine has been implicated in the modulation of diverse forms of behavioral plasticity, including appetitive learning and addiction. An important challenge is to understand how dopamine's effects at the cellular level alter the properties of neural circuits to modify behavior. In the nematode C. elegans, dopamine modulates habituation of an escape reflex triggered by body touch. In the absence of food, animals habituate more rapidly than in the presence of food; this contextual information about food availability is provided by dopaminergic mechanosensory neurons that sense the presence of bacteria. We find that dopamine alters habituation kinetics by selectively modulating the touch responses of the anterior-body mechanoreceptors; this modulation involves a D1-like dopamine receptor, a Gq/PLC-beta signaling pathway, and calcium release within the touch neurons. Interestingly, the body touch mechanoreceptors can themselves excite the dopamine neurons, forming a positive feedback loop capable of integrating context and experience to modulate mechanosensory attention.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Tato
/
Dopamina
/
Proteínas de Caenorhabditis elegans
/
Plasticidade Neuronal
/
Neurônios Aferentes
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Neuron
Assunto da revista:
NEUROLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2007
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos