Abstract
Associative learning and sensory integration are two behavioral processes that involve the sensation and processing of stimuli followed by an altered behavioral response to these stimuli, with learning requiring memory formation and retrieval. We found that the cellular and molecular actions of scd-2 dissociate sensory integration and associative learning. This was discovered through investigation of a Caenorhabditis elegans mutation (lrn-2 (mm99)) affecting both processes. After mapping and sequencing, lrn-2 was found to be allelic to the gene, scd-2. scd-2-mediated associative learning and sensory integration operate in separate neurons as separate processes. We also find that memories can form from associations that are processed and stored independently from the integration of stimuli preceding an immediate behavioral decision.
Footnotes
The authors declare no competing financial interests
This work was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (501100000038). Some strains were provided by the CGC, which is funded by NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (P40 OD010440). Other strains were provided by the National Bioresource Project. We thank Dr. Takeshi Ishihara for providing the AIA rescue animals, Dr. Peter Roy for discussions and microinjection support, Dr. Karen Maxwell for the use of her laboratory space for PA14 assays, and the worm group in the van der Kooy laboratory for discussion and support. The genomic sequencing was provided by Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Center.
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