CGC Bibliography Paper 5358

A mutant exhibiting abnormal habituation behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Xu X, Sassa T, Kunoh K, Hosono R

Medline:
12420788
Citation:
Journal of Neurogenetics 16: 29-44 2002
Type:
ARTICLE
Genes:
hab-1 eDf3 eDf12
Abstract:
The acquisition and retention of information by the nervous system are major processes of learning. Habituation is a simple learning process that occurs during repeated exposure to harmless stimuli. C. elegans is habituated when repeatedly given mechanical stimuli and recover from the habituation when the stimuli are stopped. A habituation abnormal mutant was isolated and assigned to a new gene hab-1 whose mutation causes slow habituation. The hab-1 mutant phenotype is remarkable at short time interval stimuli. However, hab-1 mutant worms show normal dishabituation. Ablations of neurons constituting the neural circuit for mechanical reflexes did not abolish abnormalities caused by the hab-1 mutation.