Simultaneous optogenetic manipulation and calcium imaging in freely moving C. elegans

Abstract

Editor:\n\nA fundamental goal of systems neuroscience is to probe the dynamics of neural activity that generate behavior. Here we present an instrument to simultaneously manipulate and monitor neural activity and behavior in the freely moving nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We use the instrument to directly observe the relationship between sensory neuron activation, interneuron dynamics and locomotion in the mechanosensory circuit.\n\nPreviously in this journal, we presented an optogenetic illumination system capable of real-time light delivery with high spatial resolution to stimulate or inhibit specified targets in freely moving C. elegans [1]. This \"Colbert\" system and others like it [2] have been instrumental in defining neural coding of several behaviors in C. elegans including chemotaxis [3], nociception [4] and the escape response [5]. Here we integrate the Colbert s ...