2023 Volume 76 Issue 2 Pages 111-117
The human brain controls various phenomena essential for life, such as sensation, thought, learning, emotion, and behavior, and these have been investigated in a wide variety of studies. Recently, it has been shown that non-neuronal tissues such as the gut support the function of the nervous system. The nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is composed of a small number of neurons, unlike the complex nervous system of mammals, thereby making it possible to study information processing in the entire brain at single-cell resolution. C. elegans exhibits behavioral responses to various stimuli such as chemicals and temperature, and these behavioral changes are dependent on memory, feeding status, or nutritional status. Such responses are mediated by signal transduction molecules such as the RAS/MAPK pathway, TOR, insulin, and monoamine signaling, which are also evolutionarily conserved in humans. Here, we describe how analysis of the nervous system of C. elegans can help clarify the molecular mechanisms involved in learning behavior, and the regulation of behavioral plasticity by sensory responses and trophic state.
