The Geometry of Locomotive Behavioral States in C. elegans

Authors

Thomas Gallagher, Virginia Commonwealth University
Theresa Bjorness, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Robert Greene, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Young-Jai You, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow
Leon Avery, Virginia Commonwealth UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Original Publication Date

2013

Journal/Book/Conference Title

PLOS ONE

Volume

8

DOI of Original Publication

10.1371/journal.pone.0059865

Comments

Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059865

Date of Submission

November 2014

Abstract

We develop a new hidden Markov model-based method to analyze C elegans locomotive behavior and use this method to quantitatively characterize behavioral states. In agreement with previous work, we find states corresponding to roaming, dwelling, and quiescence. However, we also find evidence for a continuum of intermediate states. We suggest that roaming, dwelling, and quiescence may best be thought of as extremes which, mixed in any proportion, define the locomotive repertoire of C elegans foraging and feeding behavior.

Rights

© 2013 Gallagher et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Is Part Of

VCU Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Publications