Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2025
11:16
Isolation and Culture of Dissociated Sensory Neurons From Chick Embryos
Published on: September 24, 2014
14.3K
Sensory experience controls dendritic structure and behavior by distinct pathways involving degenerins
Sharon Inberg1, Yael Iosilevskii1, Alba Calatayud-Sanchez2
1Department of Biology, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Elife
|January 10, 2025
Summary
Sensory experience shapes neuron structure. In C. elegans, mechanical touch alters dendrite structure and touch response, mediated by specific ion channels, revealing a homeostatic plasticity mechanism.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Mechanobiology
Background:
- Dendrites are vital for neuronal information reception.
- Sensory experience is hypothesized to alter dendritic structure and neuronal function, but evidence and mechanisms are limited.
- The arborized nociceptor PVD neurons in *Caenorhabditis elegans* provide a model to study experience-dependent structural plasticity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how sensory experience, specifically mechanical stimulation, influences dendritic morphology in PVD neurons.
- To determine the mechanisms underlying experience-dependent changes in neuronal structure and function.
- To explore the relationship between structural plasticity and behavioral responses to stimuli.
Main Methods:
- Utilized *Caenorhabditis elegans* PVD neurons as a model system.
- Applied natural mechanical stimulation (conspecifics, glass beads) and controlled micromechanical stimulation.
- Employed calcium imaging, genetic manipulation, optogenetics, behavioral assays, and pharmacological treatments.
Main Results:
- Mechanosensory signals from conspecifics and glass beads altered PVD dendritic structure.
- Developmentally isolated animals exhibited reduced response to harsh touch.
- Structural and behavioral plasticity were functionally independent, mediated by degenerins (amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channels).
- Calcium dynamics in PVD neurons showed similar patterns in isolated and crowded animals under controlled stimulation.
Conclusions:
- Sensory experience significantly impacts dendritic morphology and neuronal function.
- Degenerins play a key role in mediating experience-dependent structural and behavioral plasticity.
- An activity-dependent homeostatic mechanism regulates dendritic structural plasticity and noxious mechanosensory escape responses.
Keywords:
C. elegansCaenorhabditis elegansPVD neurondendritic arborizationdendritic plasticityepithelial sodium channels degenerinsneurosciencesensory experienceMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:33Somatosensation
36.4K
The somatosensory system relays sensory information from the skin, mucous membranes, limbs, and joints. Somatosensation is more familiarly known as the sense of touch. A typical somatosensory pathway includes three types of long neurons: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary neurons have cell bodies located near the spinal cord in groups of neurons called dorsal root ganglia. The sensory neurons of ganglia innervate designated areas of skin called dermatomes.
36.4K
01:29Overview of Somatic Sensory Pathways
4.1K
Somatic sensory or somatosensory pathways refer to the neural pathways that carry information related to touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and proprioception from the skin, muscles, tendons, and joints to the brain. These pathways involve several stages of processing and integration of sensory information.
The somatosensory system is divided into three main pathways: the dorsal (or posterior) column-medial lemniscus, spinothalamic (or anterolateral), and spinocerebellar pathways.
The dorsal...
The somatosensory system is divided into three main pathways: the dorsal (or posterior) column-medial lemniscus, spinothalamic (or anterolateral), and spinocerebellar pathways.
The dorsal...
4.1K
01:31What is a Sensory System?
92.8K
Sensory systems detect stimuli—such as light and sound waves—and transduce them into neural signals that can be interpreted by the nervous system. In addition to external stimuli detected by the senses, some sensory systems detect internal stimuli—such as the proprioceptors in muscles and tendons that send feedback about limb position.
92.8K
01:19The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation
3.1K
A postsynaptic neuron usually receives numerous impulses from several other presynaptic neurons. The axon hillock of the postsynaptic neuron integrates all these signals and determines the likelihood of firing an action potential.
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....
3.1K
01:15Neurogenesis and Regeneration of Nervous Tissue
706
In the CNS, neurogenesis, the birth of new neurons from stem cells, is limited to the hippocampus in adults. In other regions of the brain and spinal cord, neurogenesis is almost non-existent due to inhibitory influences from neuroglia, especially oligodendrocytes, and the absence of growth-stimulating cues. The myelin produced by oligodendrocytes in the CNS inhibits neuronal regeneration. Furthermore, astrocytes proliferate rapidly after neuronal damage, forming scar tissue that physically...
706
01:16Sensory Functions of the Skin
4.5K
The skin is the largest organ of the human body and plays a crucial role in our sensory perception. It contains a vast network of sensory receptors that contribute to the skin's protective function by perceiving physical, biological, and environmental cues and generating relevant responses.
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...
There are two main categories of receptors on the skin: capsulated and non-capsulated. The non-capsulated ones are mainly the pain receptors. The capsulated ones can be further categorized based on the...
4.5K