Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Sep 19;370(1677):20140212.
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0212.

Illuminating neural circuits and behaviour in Caenorhabditis elegans with optogenetics

Christopher Fang-Yen  1 , Mark J Alkema  2 , Aravinthan D T Samuel  3
Affiliations
Review

Illuminating neural circuits and behaviour in Caenorhabditis elegans with optogenetics

Christopher Fang-Yen et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. .

Abstract

The development of optogenetics, a family of methods for using light to control neural activity via light-sensitive proteins, has provided a powerful new set of tools for neurobiology. These techniques have been particularly fruitful for dissecting neural circuits and behaviour in the compact and transparent roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans. Researchers have used optogenetic reagents to manipulate numerous excitable cell types in the worm, from sensory neurons, to interneurons, to motor neurons and muscles. Here, we show how optogenetics applied to this transparent roundworm has contributed to our understanding of neural circuits.

Keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans; neural circuits; optogenetics.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Overview of the C. elegans nervous system. The majority of neurons are located in several ganglia near the nerve ring. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Partial circuit diagram of the C. elegans somatic nervous system and musculature. Sensory neurons are represented by triangles, interneurons are represented by hexagons, motor neurons by circles and muscles by diamonds. Arrows represent connections via chemical synapses, which may be excitatory or inhibitory. Dashed lines represent connections by electrical synapses. VNC, ventral nerve cord. (Online version in colour.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. White JG, Southgate E, Thomson JN, Brenner S. 1986. The structure of the nervous system of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 314, 1–340. (10.1098/rstb.1986.0056) - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sulston JE, Schierenberg E, White JG, Thomson JN. 1983. The embryonic cell lineage of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Dev. Biol. 100, 64–119. (10.1016/0012-1606(83)90201-4) - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fang-Yen C, Gabel CV, Samuel ADT, Bargmann CI, Avery L. 2012. Laser microsurgery in Caenorhabditis elegans. In Methods in cell biology, vol. 107 (eds Joel H Rothman, Andrew Singson), pp. 177–206. Elsevier Academic. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chalfie M, Tu Y, Euskirchen G, Ward WW, Prasher DC. 1994. Green fluorescent protein as a marker for gene expression. Science 263, 802–805. (10.1126/science.8303295) - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kerr R, Lev-Ram V, Baird G, Vincent P, Tsien RY, Schafer WR. 2000. Optical imaging of calcium transients in neurons and pharyngeal muscle of C. elegans. Neuron 26, 583–594. (10.1016/S0896-6273(00)81196-4) - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources