線蟲（Caenorhabditis elegans）的神經(jīng)回路僅由302個(gè)神經(jīng)元組成,，可稱之為有一個(gè)“社會(huì)腦”的最簡(jiǎn)單的動(dòng)物,。當(dāng)有細(xì)菌可吃時(shí),，“社會(huì)”類線蟲便選擇聚集在一起，但獨(dú)行類線蟲卻不會(huì)這么做,。
現(xiàn)在，一項(xiàng)新的研究工作發(fā)現(xiàn)RMG inter/motor神經(jīng)元對(duì)是多個(gè)傳感線索的集成及關(guān)于群居的決策中所涉及的神經(jīng)計(jì)算的樞紐,。RMG神經(jīng)元處在一個(gè)“輪軸及輪輻”回路的中心，通過非突觸“間隙連接”與相鄰的傳感神經(jīng)元相連,。這個(gè)回路控制神經(jīng)元對(duì)信息素梯度的反應(yīng)方式,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Nature 458, 1171-1175 (30 April 2009) | doi:10.1038/nature07886
A hub-and-spoke circuit drives pheromone attraction and social behaviour in C. elegans
Evan Z. Macosko1, Navin Pokala1, Evan H. Feinberg1, Sreekanth H. Chalasani1, Rebecca A. Butcher2, Jon Clardy2 & Cornelia I. Bargmann1
1 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA
2 Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
Innate social behaviours emerge from neuronal circuits that interpret sensory information on the basis of an individual's own genotype, sex and experience. The regulated aggregation behaviour of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a simple animal with only 302 neurons, is an attractive system to analyse these circuits. Wild social strains of C. elegans aggregate in the presence of specific sensory cues, but solitary strains do not1, 2, 3, 4. Here we identify the RMG inter/motor neuron as the hub of a regulated circuit that controls aggregation and related behaviours. RMG is the central site of action of the neuropeptide receptor gene npr-1, which distinguishes solitary strains (high npr-1 activity) from wild social strains (low npr-1 activity); high RMG activity is essential for all aspects of social behaviour. Anatomical gap junctions connect RMG to several classes of sensory neurons known to promote aggregation, and to ASK sensory neurons, which are implicated in male attraction to hermaphrodite pheromones5. We find that ASK neurons respond directly to pheromones, and that high RMG activity enhances ASK responses in social strains, causing hermaphrodite attraction to pheromones at concentrations that repel solitary hermaphrodites. The coordination of social behaviours by RMG suggests an anatomical hub-and-spoke model for sensory integration in aggregation, and points to functions for related circuit motifs in the C. elegans wiring diagram.
