Optogenetic Perturbation of Individual C. elegans Pharyngeal Neurons While Monitoring Feeding Behavior

Optogenetic approaches have proven to be powerful for examining the roles of specific neurons in generating behaviors, especially in systems where electrophysiological manipulation is not possible. Here we describe a method for optogenetically manipulating single pharyngeal neurons in intact C. elegans while monitoring pharyngeal behavior. This approach provides bidirectional and dynamic control of pharyngeal neural activity while quantitatively assessing behavior and has allowed us to test hypotheses about the roles of individual pharyngeal neurons in feeding behavior.