Institute of Neuroscience, 1254 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2011 Oct;21(5):782-90. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2011.06.009. Epub 2011 Jul 18.
Spatial orientation behaviors in animals are fundamental for survival but poorly understood at the neuronal level. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans orients to a wide range of stimuli and has a numerically small and well-described nervous system making it advantageous for investigating the mechanisms of spatial orientation. Recent work by the C. elegans research community has identified essential computational elements of the neural circuits underlying two orientation strategies that operate in five different sensory modalities. Analysis of these circuits reveals novel motifs including simple circuits for computing temporal derivatives of sensory input and for integrating sensory input with behavioral state to generate adaptive behavior. These motifs constitute hypotheses concerning the identity and functionality of circuits controlling spatial orientation in higher organisms.
动物的空间定位行为对生存至关重要，但在神经元水平上的了解甚少。秀丽隐杆线虫可以感知广泛的刺激，其神经系统相对较小且描述详尽，因此非常适合研究空间定位的机制。最近，秀丽隐杆线虫研究领域的工作已经确定了两种定向策略的神经回路的基本计算元素，这些策略在五种不同的感觉模态中起作用。对这些回路的分析揭示了新的模式，包括用于计算感觉输入的时间导数以及将感觉输入与行为状态相结合以产生适应性行为的简单回路。这些模式构成了关于控制高等生物空间定位的回路的身份和功能的假设。
