Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

An epifluorescence microscope design for naturalistic behavior and cellular activity in freely moving Caenorhabditis elegans.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

The impact of rearing environment on C. elegans: phenotypic, transcriptomic and intergenerational responses to 3D enriched habitats.

Biology open·2026

Same author

The impact of rearing environment on <i>C. elegans</i>: Phenotypic, transcriptomic and intergenerational responses to 3D enriched habitats.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Same author

Large vision model framework for automated <i>C. elegans</i> analysis: From static morphometry to dynamic neural activity.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Same author

A three-dimensional habitat for C. elegans environmental enrichment.

PloS one·2021

Same author

A Gate-and-Switch Model for Head Orientation Behaviors in <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>.

eNeuro·2019

Same journal

The exquisite mechanics of a tsetse bite.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Distinct involvements of the subthalamic nucleus subpopulations in reward-biased decision-making in monkeys.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Pink1-mediated mitophagy in the endothelium releases proteins encoded by mitochondrial DNA and activates neutrophil responses during inflammation.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Restraint of melanoma progression by cells in the local skin environment.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Brawn before bite in endemic Asian eutherian mammals after the end-Cretaceous extinction.

eLife·2026

Same journal

Experimental evolution to thermal stress indicates climate resilience in a cosmopolitan arthropod.

eLife·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 26, 2025

Measuring the Effects of Bacteria on C. Elegans Behavior Using an Egg Retention Assay

Measuring the Effects of Bacteria on C. Elegans Behavior Using an Egg Retention Assay

Published on: October 22, 2013

C. elegans does a spit take.

Michael Hendricks¹

¹Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

|August 3, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Muscle cells can control how different parts contract, allowing them to switch between eating and spitting actions. This cellular mechanism explains complex muscle coordination.

Keywords:

C. elegans behavior hourglass circuit motif motor control neural circuitry neuroscience subcellular muscle contraction subcellularly localized calcium transients

More Related Videos

Swimming Induced Paralysis to Assess Dopamine Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans

Swimming Induced Paralysis to Assess Dopamine Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: April 3, 2019

A Caenorhabditis elegans Nutritional-status Based Copper Aversion Assay

A Caenorhabditis elegans Nutritional-status Based Copper Aversion Assay

Published on: July 26, 2017

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 26, 2025

Measuring the Effects of Bacteria on C. Elegans Behavior Using an Egg Retention Assay

Measuring the Effects of Bacteria on C. Elegans Behavior Using an Egg Retention Assay

Published on: October 22, 2013

Swimming Induced Paralysis to Assess Dopamine Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans

Swimming Induced Paralysis to Assess Dopamine Signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: April 3, 2019

A Caenorhabditis elegans Nutritional-status Based Copper Aversion Assay

A Caenorhabditis elegans Nutritional-status Based Copper Aversion Assay

Published on: July 26, 2017

Area of Science:

Muscle physiology
Cellular biology
Biomechanics

Background:

Muscle contraction is fundamental to movement.
Understanding the cellular basis of complex actions like eating and spitting is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the cellular mechanisms enabling muscle cells to perform distinct actions.
To explore how differential contraction of muscle cell components facilitates complex motor functions.

Main Methods:

Analysis of muscle cell structures.
Observation of differential contractile properties within muscle fibers.
Biophysical modeling of cellular mechanics.

Main Results:

Individual components within muscle cells exhibit varied contractile capabilities.
These differential contractions allow for distinct functional outputs, such as ingestion and expulsion.
The cellular machinery supports a transition between these opposing actions.

Conclusions:

The ability of muscle cells to modulate contractions in distinct parts underlies complex behaviors.
This cellular plasticity provides a mechanism for switching between seemingly opposite motor functions like eating and spitting.