{"id":41446,"date":"2023-07-11T00:00:40","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T07:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vermont.salk.edu\/?post_type=disclosure&p=41446"},"modified":"2024-01-30T14:13:20","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T22:13:20","slug":"preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms","status":"publish","type":"disclosure","link":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/","title":{"rendered":"Preying on hungry, anxious worms"},"content":{"rendered":"

LA JOLLA\u2014The life of the tiny worm called Caenorhabditis elegans <\/em>consists mostly of looking for food, eating food, and laying eggs. So, when any of these behaviors are disrupted, there\u2019s cause for concern. In a new study, Salk Institute scientists discovered that the \u201cfeel good\u201d brain chemical dopamine regulates anxious worm behavior in the presence of nipping predators.<\/p>\n

\"Worm
Worm (Caenorhabditis elegans<\/em>) approaching two predators (Pristionchus pacificus<\/em>) guarding a patch of food.
Klicken Sie hier<\/a> f\u00fcr ein hochaufl\u00f6sendes Bild.
Kredit: Salk Institut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The findings, published in eLife <\/em><\/a>on July 11, 2023, illuminate how this dopamine-regulated brain pathway may be related to anxiety and could provide insight into human conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).<\/p>\n

\u201cWorms are a wonderful model for studying anxiety because the cause of their anxiety is typically known, like predation,\u201d says Professor Sreekanth Chalasani<\/a>, senior author of the new work. \u201cThus, we can use worms to better understand fundamental neural pathways related to anxiety and stress responses that could be conserved across species.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this study, the researchers observed what happened when a predator worm species (Pristionchus pacificus<\/em>) nipped at the worms, discouraging the worms from eating the food source. In response, the worms moved away from the food source, and the predators were able to eat more. Additionally, the worms also laid their eggs away from the old food source and the threat of predation.<\/p>\n

The researchers noticed that the worms would stay away even after the predators had left\u2014indicating the worms were learning<\/em> that it was safer to stay away. Furthermore, the behavior of laying the eggs far away from predators was regulated by dopamine. But when the researchers blocked dopamine pathways in the worms, they did not avoid predators as frequently to lay their eggs.<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/a>
From left: Michael Rieger, Kirthi Reddy, and Sreekanth Chalasani.
Klicken Sie hier<\/a> f\u00fcr ein hochaufl\u00f6sendes Bild.
Kredit: Salk Institut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cTo understand how the brain works, it is important to study it in its natural context,” says co-first author Amy Pribadi, a former graduate student researcher in Chalasani\u2019s lab. “To do that, we can use a simple worm with an easily constructed natural environment, then look at how that worm\u2019s brain networks and molecules modulate behavior in that ‘natural’ environment.”<\/p>\n

Additionally, the researchers explored how the presence of smaller patches of food away from the main food source impacted worm-predator interactions. While predators were busy monopolizing a main food source, the presence of alternate (albeit smaller) food sources elsewhere made the worms more likely to avoid predators.<\/p>\n

\"Amy
Amy Pribadi
Klicken Sie hier<\/a> f\u00fcr ein hochaufl\u00f6sendes Bild.
Kredit: Salk Institut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWorms make decisions based on environmental changes similar to more complex animals and humans,\u201d says co-first author Michael Rieger, a postdoctoral researcher in Chalasani\u2019s lab. \u201cDifficulty adapting to change\u2014especially due to threat or stress\u2014is common in humans, especially those with neurological disorders. Our research in this simple organism reveals new avenues for exploring the neuroscience of decision-making, which we hope can generalize all the way up the food chain to humans.”<\/p>\n

In the future, the team will examine the role of another brain chemical called serotonin in this evasive behavior, since serotonin is known to regulate other dopamine-dependent behaviors, like searching for food. They also hope their study serves as a springboard for future inquiry into the impact of other brain signaling pathways that influence feeding, reproduction, and other behaviors.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy looking at worms, you capture so much intricate biology in an animal that has evolved over billions of years,\u201d says Chalasani. \u201cAny insight\u2014even in worms\u2014into the mechanisms of predator-prey behaviors enriches our understanding of so many other phenomena that exhibit this biological push-pull relationship, like the co-evolution of animals and their environment or the delicate balance of chemical conversations between cells.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other authors include Kaila Rosales and Kirthi C. Reddy of Salk.<\/p>\n

The work was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, an Innovation Grant from Kavli Institute of Brain and Mind, and the National Institutes of Health (R01 MH113905).<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":41515,"template":"","faculty":[77],"disease-research":[124],"class_list":["post-41446","disclosure","type-disclosure","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","faculty-sreekanth-chalasani","disease-research-neuroscience-and-neurological-disorders"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPreying on hungry, anxious worms - Salk Institute for Biological Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Preying on hungry, anxious worms - Salk Institute for Biological Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LA JOLLA\u2014The life of the tiny worm called Caenorhabditis elegans consists mostly of looking for food, eating food, and laying eggs. So, when any of these behaviors are disrupted, there\u2019s cause for concern. In a new study, Salk Institute scientists discovered that the \u201cfeel good\u201d brain chemical dopamine regulates anxious worm behavior in the presence of nipping predators.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-30T22:13:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PribadiEtAl-Schematic-767.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"767\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"767\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\\\/\",\"name\":\"Preying on hungry, anxious worms - Salk Institute for Biological Studies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/PribadiEtAl-Schematic-767.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-11T07:00:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-30T22:13:20+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/PribadiEtAl-Schematic-767.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/07\\\/PribadiEtAl-Schematic-767.jpg\",\"width\":767,\"height\":767,\"caption\":\"Caenorhabditis elegans\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/news-release\\\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Preying on hungry, anxious worms\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/\",\"name\":\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\",\"description\":\"The Power of Science\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/salk_logo_696.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/salk_logo_696.jpg\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"Salk Institute for Biological Studies\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.salk.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Preying on hungry, anxious worms - Salk Institute for Biological Studies","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"Preying on hungry, anxious worms - Salk Institute for Biological Studies","og_description":"LA JOLLA\u2014The life of the tiny worm called Caenorhabditis elegans consists mostly of looking for food, eating food, and laying eggs. So, when any of these behaviors are disrupted, there\u2019s cause for concern. In a new study, Salk Institute scientists discovered that the \u201cfeel good\u201d brain chemical dopamine regulates anxious worm behavior in the presence of nipping predators.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/","og_site_name":"Salk Institute for Biological Studies","article_modified_time":"2024-01-30T22:13:20+00:00","og_image":[{"width":767,"height":767,"url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PribadiEtAl-Schematic-767.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/","name":"Preying on hungry, anxious worms - Salk Institute for Biological Studies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PribadiEtAl-Schematic-767.jpg","datePublished":"2023-07-11T07:00:40+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-30T22:13:20+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"de-DE","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de-DE","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PribadiEtAl-Schematic-767.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PribadiEtAl-Schematic-767.jpg","width":767,"height":767,"caption":"Caenorhabditis elegans"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/news-release\/preying-on-hungry-anxious-worms\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Preying on hungry, anxious worms"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/","name":"Salk-Institut f\u00fcr biologische Studien","description":"Die Macht der Wissenschaft","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"de-DE"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#organization","name":"Salk-Institut f\u00fcr biologische Studien","url":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"de-DE","@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/salk_logo_696.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/salk_logo_696.jpg","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"Salk Institute for Biological Studies"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"ACF":{"hero":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PribadiEtAl-Schematic-header.jpg","line_1":"Preying on hungry, anxious worms","line_2":"Salk scientists discover dopamine regulates worm egg-laying and food-seeking behaviors in response to predation","poster_quote":"","paper_url":"https:\/\/elifesciences.org\/articles\/83957","journal_title":"eLife","paper_author_list":"Amy Pribadi, Michael A. Rieger, Kaila Rosales, Kirthi C. Reddy, and Sreekanth H. Chalasani","doi":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7554\/eLife.83957","paper_title":"Dopamine signaling regulates predator-driven changes in Caenorhabditis elegans\u2019 egg laying behavior","subhead":"Salk scientists discover dopamine regulates worm egg-laying and food-seeking behaviors in response to predation","home_photo":"","listing_photo":"","legacy_boilerplate":[],"hide_boilerplate":[],"disable_date":false,"listing_excerpt":"","descriptive_blurb":"","has_journal_cover":false,"og_image_override":false,"gallery":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure\/41446","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/disclosure"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure\/41446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41516,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disclosure\/41446\/revisions\/41516"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"faculty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/faculty?post=41446"},{"taxonomy":"disease-research","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disease-research?post=41446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}