Nature Communications (Sep 2019)

A GABAergic and peptidergic sleep neuron as a locomotion stop neuron with compartmentalized Ca2+ dynamics

  • Wagner Steuer Costa,
  • Petrus Van der Auwera,
  • Caspar Glock,
  • Jana F. Liewald,
  • Maximilian Bach,
  • Christina Schüler,
  • Sebastian Wabnig,
  • Alexandra Oranth,
  • Florentin Masurat,
  • Henrik Bringmann,
  • Liliane Schoofs,
  • Ernst H. K. Stelzer,
  • Sabine C. Fischer,
  • Alexander Gottschalk

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12098-5
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

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The GABAergic and peptidergic neuron RIS mediates sleep in Caenorhabditis elegans. The authors demonstrated here that RIS also functions as a locomotion stop neuron. Its optogenetic stimulation caused acute and persistent inhibition of locomotion, and brief intrinsic RIS activity preceded slowing.