Behavioral and genetic characterization of habituation using Caenorhabditis elegans

This review surveys the literature that investigates the behavioral characterization and cellular and molecular mechanisms of habituation using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. In 1990, C. elegans was first observed to show habituation to a non-localized mechanical tap. The parameters that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurobiology of learning and memory 2009-09, Vol.92 (2), p.139-146
Main Authors: Giles, Andrew C., Rankin, Catharine H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animal cognition
Animals
Behavior, Animal - physiology
Caenorhabditis elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - genetics
Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins - metabolism
Context conditioning
Dishabituation
Dopamine
Dopamine - metabolism
Glutamate
Glutamic Acid - metabolism
Habituation
Habituation, Psychophysiologic - genetics
Learning
Long-term memory
Memory
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Mental Recall - physiology
Models, Animal
Neurobiology
Neurons - physiology
Phospholipase C beta - metabolism
Receptors, Glutamate - genetics
Receptors, Glutamate - metabolism
Reconsolidation
Signal Transduction
Worms
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Summary:This review surveys the literature that investigates the behavioral characterization and cellular and molecular mechanisms of habituation using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. In 1990, C. elegans was first observed to show habituation to a non-localized mechanical tap. The parameters that govern this behavioral plasticity in C. elegans were subsequently characterized, which lead to the important hypothesis that habituation is mediated by multiple mechanisms. Many tools are available to C. elegans researchers that allow for relatively easy genetic manipulation. This has lead to a number of recent genetic studies that have begun to identify key genes and molecules that play a role in the mechanisms of habituation. Some of these genes include a vesicular glutamate transporter, a glutamate receptor subunit, a dopamine receptor and downstream intracellular signaling molecules, such as G proteins and kinases. Some of these genes only affect certain parameters of habituation, but not others supporting the hypothesis that multiple mechanisms mediate habituation. The field of research has also led to the dissection of different phases of memory (short-term vs. long-term memory for habituation), which are triggered by different training paradigms. The differences in mechanism between these various forms of memory are also beginning to be revealed.
ISSN:1074-7427
1095-9564
DOI:10.1016/j.nlm.2008.08.004