# Neural representation of mating partners by male C. elegans

> **NIH NIH R01** · CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2020 · $656,829

## Abstract

Project Summary
Understanding how neural circuits create animal behavior requires knowing the system-wide activity patterns
that connect sensory experience to motor activities, all within the full set of feedback loops by which actuated
motor decisions modulate the animal's perceptions of itself and the outside world during naturally executed and
unrestrained behaviors. Mechanistic understanding further requires interpretation of system-wide activity
patterns in terms of the connectivity, synaptic, and cellular properties of all relevant neurons. Modeling requires
comprehensive mapping of the salient dimensions of sensory input and motor output, as well as how high-
dimensional neural activity patterns are properly projected, by decision-making and the internal constraints of
the nervous system and motor system, into the fewer dimensions that characterize any animal's observed
behavior. Such models are facilitated by using animals where entire brain and motor circuits can be mapped and
interrogated with full molecular and cellular resolution. Here, we will use the mating behavior of the male C.
elegans as such a paradigm. The mating behavior of C. elegans is a critically important and goal-directed task
that occurs in natural environments and is robustly executed in the laboratory. Males use a specialized circuit of
~100 neurons – sensory neurons, interneurons, neuromodulatory, and motor neurons – all contained within the
male tail ganglia to locate hermaphrodites, locate the vulva along the hermaphrodite's body, and initiate and
complete insemination. A diverse set of mechanosensory, chemosensory, and pheromone sensing neurons are
used to recognize the shape, texture, and chemical signature of the hermaphrodite body. Several neurons are
specialized to detect fiducial points along the hermaphrodite body. The male implicitly uses an internal
representation of the size, shape, and predictable behaviors of the hermaphrodite to positively recognize the
hermaphrodite, infer its own position along the hermaphrodite, and execute an optimal movement strategy to
maintain contact with the hermaphrodite and find and penetrate the vulva. It is now possible to record neural
activity from the entire set of neurons in the male tail with high temporal resolution and complete cellular
resolution. We will couple experiments, modern data analysis and modeling methods, and cellular and molecular
genetic perturbations to elucidate the full set of sensorimotor events that organize the mating behavior. We will
develop a realistic model of the circuit that integrates the observable behavioral algorithms with the connectivity
and activity patterns of the male tail ganglion. We will apply genetic tools to identify and elucidate each sensory
neuron type, and how it affects each aspect of decision-making by downstream interneurons and motor neurons.
We will characterize key synaptic properties by molecular dissection of neurotransmitter and receptor types. We
will store thi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9993595
- **Project number:** 5R01NS113119-02
- **Recipient organization:** CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** Scott Warren Linderman
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $656,829
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-15 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9993595

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9993595, Neural representation of mating partners by male C. elegans (5R01NS113119-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9993595. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*