title: Reversal frequency in Caenorhabditis elegans represents an integrated response to the state of the animal and its environment.
abstract: The locomotion of Caenorhabditis elegans consists of forward crawling punctuated by spontaneous reversals. To better understand the important variables that affect locomotion, we have described in detail the locomotory behavior of C. elegans and identified a set of parameters that are sufficient to describe the animal's trajectory. A model of locomotion based on these parameters indicates that reversal frequency plays a central role in locomotion. We found that several variables such as humidity, gravidity, and mechanostimulation influence reversal frequency. Specifically, both gentle and harsh touch can transiently suppress reversal frequency. Thus, reversal behavior is a model for the integration of information from numerous modalities reflecting diverse aspects of the state of an organism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada.
authors.forename: Beibei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Parul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Khare
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dent
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004777:Environment; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology