Title: Uncovering Neuronal Plasticity Following Associative Memory in C. elegans
Associative learning enables animals to link a conditioned stimulus, like an odor, with an unconditioned stimulus, such as reward or punishment, facilitating adaptive behavioral responses to changing environments. A central challenge in neuroscience is identifying specific neuronal sites where these associations are stored. To reveal learning-dependent neuronal changes, we developed a setup to track neuronal plasticity in C. elegans following associative learning. Our microfluidic device is uniquely designed to enable imaging of neuronal responses to precise stimulations across multiple animals simultaneously. Using this system, we analyzed activity patterns of individual neurons as animals learned to associate an odor positively, with food availability, or negatively, with starvation. We will present our findings on learning-dependent plastic changes in sensory and premotor interneurons, illuminating potential neural substrates where associative memory may reside.
