Serotonin deficiency shortens the duration of forward movement in Caenorhabditis elegans

Serotonin has been implicated in numerous behaviors in a wide variety of animals. We examined the effect of serotonin deficiency, induced by genetic perturbations and cell ablations, on the duration of Caenorhabditis elegans forward movement. Mutants with defective serotonin biosynthesis or worms with ablated serotonergic neurons showed a markedly decreased duration of forward movement, suggesting involvement of this neuromodulator in the regulation of the duration of worm locomotion.