Cookies
We use essential cookies to run the site. Analytics cookies are optional and help us improve World Wide. Learn more.
Oren lab, Weizmann Institute of Science
Showing your local timezone
Schedule
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
7:00 PM Europe/Berlin
Recording provided by the organiser.
Domain
NeuroscienceHost
WWNeuRise
Duration
35 minutes
In sexually reproducing species, males and females respond to environmental sensory cues and transform the input into sexually dimorphic traits. Yet, how sexually dimorphic behavior is encoded in the nervous system is poorly understood. We characterize the sexually dimorphic nociceptive behavior in C. elegans – hermaphrodites present a lower pain threshold than males in response to aversive stimuli, and study the underlying neuronal circuits, which are composed of the same neurons that are wired differently. By imaging receptor expression, calcium responses and glutamate secretion, we show that sensory transduction is similar in the two sexes, and therefore explore how downstream network topology shapes dimorphic behavior. We generated a computational model that replicates the observed dimorphic behavior, and used this model to predict simple network rewirings that would switch the behavior between the sexes. We then showed experimentally, using genetic manipulations, artificial gap junctions, automated tracking and optogenetics, that these subtle changes to male connectivity result in hermaphrodite-like aversive behavior in-vivo, while hermaphrodite behavior was more robust to perturbations. Strikingly, when presented with aversive cues, rewired males were compromised in finding mating partners, suggesting that the network topology that enables efficient avoidance of noxious cues would have a reproductive "cost". To summarize, we present a deconstruction of a sex-shared neural circuit that affects sexual behavior, and how to reprogram it. More broadly, our results are an example of how common neuronal circuits changed their function during evolution by subtle topological rewirings to account for different environmental and sexual needs.
Vladyslava Pechuk
Oren lab, Weizmann Institute of Science
Contact & Resources
neuro
Nervous system function relies on the polarized architecture of neurons, established by directional transport of pre- and postsynaptic cargoes. While delivery of postsynaptic components depends on the
neuro
A combinatorial neural code for long-term motor memory
neuro
The postdoctoral researcher will work on an interdisciplinary project at the intersection of deep learning and comparative politics. The candidate will work in the Human-Centered Machine Learning (HuM
We are looking for highly motivated researchers to join our group in interdisciplinary projects that focus on the development of computational models to understand how linguistic information is repres
The CSNG Lab at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the Charles University is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to join our team to work on a digital twin model of the visual sy
PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Cluster headache (CH), which affects about 1 in 1,000 people, is a severe and debilitating primary headache disorder characterized by repeated attacks occurring in clusters