03.07.2017 // Mei Zhen, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital University of Toronto

Functional compression at a small nervous system: insights from the C. elegans motor circuit

The ability of animals to generate goal oriented motor behaviors ensures their survival. Combining molecular genetics and optogenetics, we have begun to reveal the molecular and circuit mechanisms that drive the motor behaviors of C. elegans, an animal with a small nervous system. I will present our unpublished results that describe the molecular and cellular origins of the rhythmicity of C. elegans locomotion. These results provide evidence for functional compression when a nervous system is constrained by cell numbers, a property that allows small animals to serve as compact models to dissect the organizational logic of circuits.

11:30-12:30 BioSci Rm. 3110
*** And Free Pizza Meet & Greet 12:30-1:30 in BioSci 3rd floor lunch room (Rm 3406)