Nerve Regeneration in <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> After Femtosecond Laser Axotomy

Yanik, Mehmet Fatih; Cinar, Hulusi; Cinar, Hediye Nese; Gibby, Aaron; Chisholm, Andrew; Jin, Yishi; Ben‐Yakar, Adela

doi:10.1109/jstqe.2006.879579

Cited by 45 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Thus, this model predicts that sufficiently minor defects in the locomotion nervous system that may be masked or disguised in crawling worms may be more apparent in liquid. For example, the model predicts a role for inhibitory neurons in forward locomotion ( Figure 2): whereas GABA-defective crawling worms (biological and simulated) can exhibit near wild-type locomotion [11,22], model worms lacking inhibition fail to generate swimming patterns in liquid [27 ]. Indeed, the model suggests that GABAergic motor neurons serve a dual role in the robustness of the motor system: ensuring smooth undulations by inhibiting muscles on the opposite side of the body and resetting the neural circuit by inhibiting excitatory motor neurons on the same side of the body (Figures 1 and 2).…”

Section: The Forward Locomotion Circuit In the Ventral Nerve Cordmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Surprisingly, locomotion can be generated even in the absence of inhibitory neurons [11,22], raising fundamental questions about the rhythm generating mechanisms. The conspicuous absence of candidates for a half-center oscillator motif in the VNC circuit [6,[23][24][25] has led to alternative models of the rhythm generating mechanism along the body.…”

Section: The Forward Locomotion Circuit In the Ventral Nerve Cordmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The animal's undulations are controlled by head and ventral nerve cord (VNC) circuits. Extensive characterization of defects (through ablation of individual classes of neurons) [9][10][11] has provided a strong basis for an intuitive understanding of the operation of this otherwise irregular circuit architecture [12 ,13]. Indeed, evidence suggests that semi-independent VNC subcircuits control forward and backward locomotion [6,14,15,16 ,17 ,18 ,19 ] and are gated by distinct premotor (so-called command) interneurons.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Nematode locomotion: dissecting the neuronal–environmental loop

Cohen

Sanders

2014

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

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With a fully reconstructed and extensively characterized neural circuit, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a promising model system for integrating our understanding of neuronal, circuit and whole-animal dynamics. Fundamental to addressing this challenge is the need to consider the tight neuronal-environmental coupling that allows the animal to survive and adapt to changing conditions. Locomotion behaviors are affected by environmental variables both at the biomechanical level and via adaptive sensory responses that drive and modulate premotor and motor circuits. Here we review significant advances in our understanding of proprioceptive control of locomotion, and more abstract models of spatial orientation and navigation. The growing evidence of the complexity of the underlying circuits suggests that the intuition gained is but the first step in elucidating the secrets of neural computation in this relatively simple system. http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.conb.2013.12.003 Introduction To survive, animals process sensory information to drive motor behaviors and to move about their environment. Among locomotion strategies, undulations are remarkably effective across scales and in a variety of environments [1][2][3]. Common to most locomotion and to undulationbased strategies, in particular, is the tight neuronalenvironmental loop, in which the shape of the body and the way in which the sensory organs sample the environment are integral to the neural dynamics. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is a powerful system in which to study this loop, due to its small nervous system and experimental tractability. Indeed, with a largely specified neural circuit and rapidly advancing technologies for recording and manipulating neuronal activity [4 ,5], significant progress is being made in deciphering the dynamics this neural circuit supports.Here we review recent progress in understanding the motor programs underpinning undulatory locomotion as well as higher level command of locomotion primitives and sensorimotor programs in C. elegans. We discuss how progress in understanding the neuronal-environmental loop is contributing to the ongoing effort and fundamental challenges in assembling a whole animal model of C. elegans behavior. The ventral nerve cordC. elegans is a small (1 mm long) unsegmented worm with 302 nerve cells [6][7][8]. The animal's undulations are controlled by head and ventral nerve cord (VNC) circuits. Extensive characterization of defects (through ablation of individual classes of neurons) [9][10][11] has provided a strong basis for an intuitive understanding of the operation of this otherwise irregular circuit architecture [12 ,13]. Indeed, evidence suggests that semi-independent VNC subcircuits control forward and backward locomotion [6,14,15,16 ,17 ,18 ,19 ] and are gated by distinct premotor (so-called command) interneurons. The forward locomotion circuit in the ventral nerve cordIn forward locomotion, cholinergic motor neurons excite muscles on either side of the body while ...

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Section: The Forward Locomotion Circuit In the Ventral Nerve Cordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Forward Locomotion Circuit In the Ventral Nerve Cordmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nematode locomotion: dissecting the neuronal–environmental loop

Cohen

Sanders

2014

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

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“…It also generates more collateral damage to the surrounding tissues due to the higher pulse energy (0.5 μJ) induced by the longer pulse duration on the order of nanosecond or picosecond. [65][66][67][68] The invention of the near-infrared (NIR; 780-800 nm) femtosecond laser system brings the surgical precision of laser ablation from the cellular level (~10 μm) to the subcellular level (<1 μm) (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Development Of Femtosecond Laser Technology For Axon Regenermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 The femtosecond laser system permits subcellular neuronal dissections and minimizes the collateral damage to the nearby tissue through the combination of low pulse energy (10-40 nJ), ultrashort pulse duration (100-200 fs), and nonlinear energy deposition. 68,69 Energy deposition by nonlinear absorption restricts damage to a focal point. 69 At the focal point of the NIR laser plasma, temperatures can reach 10,000 K, the plasma temperature on the surface of the sun.…”

Section: Development Of Femtosecond Laser Technology For Axon Regenermentioning

confidence: 99%

C. elegansas a genetic model to identify novel cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying nervous system regeneration

Chiu

Alqadah

Chuang

et al. 2011

Cell Adhesion & Migration

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Research into conditions that improve axon regeneration has the potential to open a new door for treatment of brain injury caused by stroke and neurodegenerative diseases of aging, such as Alzheimer, by harnessing intrinsic neuronal ability to reorganize itself. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms of axon regeneration should shed light on how this process becomes restricted in the postnatal stage and in the CNS and therefore could provide therapeutic targets for developing strategies to improve axon regeneration in the adult CNS. In this review, we first discuss the general view about nerve regeneration and the advantages of using C. elegans as a model system to study axon regeneration. We then compare the conserved regeneration patterns and molecular mechanisms between C. elegans and vertebrates. Lastly, we discuss the power of femtosecond laser technology and its application in axon regeneration research.

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