Multi-dimensional structure of C. elegans thermal learning

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive, biologically interpretable model of thermal learning in C. elegans, revealing two independent pathways influencing thermal preference dynamics through high-throughput experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a new multi-modal framework capturing the complex dynamics of thermal learning in C. elegans, integrating experimental data with a detailed mathematical model.

Findings

Thermal preference dynamics are governed by two independent pathways.

A minimum of four dynamical variables is required to model the behavior.

Distinct pathways positively and negatively influence temperature preference.

Abstract

Quantitative models of associative learning that explain the behavior of real animals with high precision have turned out very difficult to construct. We do this in the context of the dynamics of the thermal preference of C. elegans. For this, we quantify C. elegans thermotaxis in response to various conditioning parameters, genetic perturbations, and operant behavior using a fast, high-throughput microfluidic droplet assay. We then model this data comprehensively, within a new, biologically interpretable, multi-modal framework. We discover that the dynamics of thermal preference are described by two independent contributions and require a model with at least four dynamical variables. One pathway positively associates the experienced temperature independently of food and the other negatively associates to the temperature when food is absent.