RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 A receptor tyrosine kinase plays separate roles in sensory integration and associative learning in C. elegans. JF eneuro JO eNeuro FD Society for Neuroscience SP ENEURO.0244-18.2019 DO 10.1523/ENEURO.0244-18.2019 A1 Glenn S. Wolfe A1 Vivian W. Tong A1 Emily Povse A1 Daniel M. Merritt A1 Gregory W. Stegeman A1 Stephane Flibotte A1 Derek van der Kooy YR 2019 UL http://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2019/08/01/ENEURO.0244-18.2019.abstract AB 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.Significance Statement We show that the mutation lrn-2, a learning mutant derived from a random mutagenesis screen is allelic to scd-2, a receptor tyrosine kinase. Differences in the role of scd-2 provide the first evidence for genetic, cellular, and behavioral dissociations of sensory integration and associative learning in C. elegans. We show that scd-2 uses different genetic and neuronal pathways for its role in sensory integration versus associative learning. Furthermore, this dissociation shows that sensory integration and associative learning are separate phenomena and that memories can form from associations independent of initial sensory integration. This implies memory formation can be separated from real-time sensory perception.