Raja Bhattacharya

TL;DR: The data suggest that dopamine-mediated sensory information about food availability shapes foraging in a context-dependent manner through peptide modulation of locomotory output.

TL;DR: By linking the in vivo actions of specific neuropeptide signaling systems with the generation of stable behavioral outcomes, this study reveals how cycles of neuromodulation emanating from non-neuronal cells can fundamentally shape the organization of a behavioral program.

TL;DR: Investigation of neuromodulatory control of ethologically conserved area-restricted food search behavior shows that NLP-12 stimulation of the head motor circuit promotes food searching through the previously uncharacterized CKR-1 GPCR.

TL;DR: The modulatory effects of NLP-12 are discussed with an emphasis on the potential for circuit level integration with olfactory information about food availability and potential mechanisms by which DVA may integrate distinct forms of sensory information to regulate N LP-12 signaling and mediate context-dependent modulation of the motor circuit are proposed.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that the Caenorhabditis elegans NLP-12 neuropeptide system shapes responses to food availability by modulating the activity of head and body wall motor neurons through alternate G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) targets, CKR-1 and CKR2.