MIT professor Steven Flavell is using the simple roundworm C. elegans to study how the brain controls behavior, hoping to gain insights into similar processes in humans and other animals.
C. elegans, a tiny worm with just 302 neurons, offers a unique opportunity for researchers, as every connection between these neurons has been fully mapped, making it easier to study how they work together to drive behaviors like feeding, movement, and navigation.
The research aims to understand motivated behaviors, such as why animals seek food or explore their environment. His lab has uncovered how specific neurons in the worm’s brain contribute to these behaviors and how different chemicals in the brain, called neuromodulators, play a role.
“C. elegans has a surprisingly simple brain, but it can still do complex things like find food, learn, and even sleep,” says Flavell. “What we learn here might help us understand similar human processes.”
Flavell, who grew up in a science-driven family, initially studied psychology and physiology before focusing on neuroscience. His early work included examining Alzheimer’s disease, which deepened his interest in how brain activity shapes behavior.
He later moved on to study C. elegans because its simple and well-documented nervous system offered a unique chance to examine how behavior arises from neural circuits.
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Despite having only about 7,000 synapses in total, the C. elegans brain exhibits a wide range of behaviors. For example, when foraging for food, the worm switches between actively exploring its surroundings and pausing to feed. Environmental factors like food quality or hunger level influence these transitions.
Flavell’s lab found that neuromodulators such as serotonin regulate these behavior patterns.
One of Flavell’s most recent projects involved creating a detailed “atlas” of the serotonin system in C. elegans, mapping every neuron that produces serotonin and every neuron that responds to it. Flavell believes researchers can gain insights into similar mechanisms in mammals, including humans, by understanding how this system works in the worm.
Flavell’s team also uses advanced techniques, such as special microscopes that follow the worm as it moves, to track brain activity and real-time behavior. With this data, the lab has developed computational models that predict how brain activity drives specific behaviors.
Being at MIT, Flavell has access to a multidisciplinary environment that brings together experts in neuroscience, physics, engineering, and computer science. This collaborative approach has enabled his lab to create new tools and methods for studying C. elegans, accelerating discoveries about the brain’s workings.
Flavell’s research shows that even simple organisms like C. elegans can reveal fundamental truths about the brain and behavior, making it a powerful model for understanding basic neuroscience and potential treatments for human brain-related conditions.
Source: Tech Explorist
