Robyn Branicky

TL;DR: The C. elegans connectome can be mapped as a multiplex network with synaptic, gap junction, and neuromodulator layers representing alternative modes of interaction between neurons, providing a new topological plan for understanding how aminergic and peptidergic modulation of behaviour is achieved by specific motifs and loci of integration between hard-wired synaptic or junctional circuits.

TL;DR: A discrete representation of behaviour in the nematode C. elegans will enable the use of methods developed for other kinds of discrete data in bioinformatics and language processing to be harnessed for the study of behaviour.

TL;DR: Across locomotion patterns spanning a threefold change in wavelength, peak muscle activation occurs approximately 45° (1/8th of a cycle) ahead of peak midline curvature, which suggests that proprioception can enable the worm to swim effectively while working within the limitations of muscle biomechanics and neural control.

TL;DR: This work has found that channels encoded by the Caenorhabditis elegans CLC-2 homolog clh-3 regulate the activity of the spontaneously active hermaphrodite-specific neurons (HSNs), which control the egg-laying behavior and identified a gain-of-function mutation in clH-3 that increases channel activity.

TL;DR: The characterization of LGC-55 in C. elegans is reported, the first identified tyramine-gated chloride channel, which suggests that the roles of classical and trace biogenic amines in all organisms may need to be reconsidered.