title: Sexual modulation of neural circuits and behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: Sex differences in behavior-both sex-specific and shared behaviors-are fundamental to nearly all animal species. One often overlooked mechanism by which these behavioral differences can be generated is through sex-specific modulation of shared circuitry (i.e., circuits present in both sexes). In vertebrates this modulation is likely regulated by hormone-dependent mechanisms as well as by somatic sex itself; invertebrate models have particular promise for understanding the latter of these. Here we review molecular and behavioral evidence of sexual modulation of shared circuitry in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Multiple behaviors in this species, both copulatory and not, are modulated by the genetic sex of shared neurons and circuit. These studies are close to uncovering the molecular mechanisms by which somatic sex modulates neural function in the worm, mechanisms which may be well conserved in more complex organisms. Improving our understanding of the modulation of neural circuit development and function by somatic sex may lend important insight into sex differences in the mammalian nervous system which, in turn, may have important implications for sex biases in disease.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, United States; Center for Neural Development and Disease and Department of Biomedical Genetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, United States.
authors.forename: Kelli A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Fagan
authors.affiliation: Center for Neural Development and Disease and Department of Biomedical Genetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, United States; Department of Biomedical Genetics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, United States. Electronic address: douglas.portman@rochester.edu.
authors.forename: Douglas S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Portman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology*; D002633:Chemotaxis; D009043:Motor Activity; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal
keywords: Behavior genetics; C. elegans; Neural circuits; Sex differences; Sexual differentiation