Ethanol Exposure during Immersion in Liquid Results in Disinhibition of Crawl Behaviors.

<p>Foraging (A), spontaneous reversals (B), touch response (C), and light response (D), as well as crawling kinematics (E,F) were disinhibited by EtOH. To ensure that such disinhibition was not the result of a decline in cellular function, worms treated with sodium azide were also assessed. No disinhibition was observed in these animals. EtOH treatment resulted in a reduction of bending frequency and a loss of C-shaped body posture. Animals treated with sodium azide experienced a similar decline in bending frequency, but no reduction in C-shape body posture. Statistical analyses comparing EtOH-, azide-, and untreated worms were performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD post-hoc test or Kruskal-Wallis and Steel-Dwass-Critchlow-Fligner post-hoc test. Asterisks indicate significance in relation to untreated controls with P<0.001, n≥4 assays, ≥10 worms per assay for all experiments A–C, n≥15 for D–F. Error bars represent standard error of the mean.</p

Loss of D1-like Dopamine Receptor DOP-4 Reduces Disinhibition of Crawl.

<p>Loss of the D1-like receptor DOP-1 resulted in a slightly lower bending frequency versus WT with EtOH treatment (A). EtOH treatment also caused uncoordination, with significantly fewer bends propagated down the animal. This phenotype was exacerbated in <i>dop-4</i> mutant animals (B). Of body bends propagated down the animal, approximately half were C-shaped in most intoxicated animals, indicating disinhibition of crawl. Only animals lacking <i>dop-4</i> demonstrated resistance to this effect. Statistical analyses comparing EtOH-treated mutants to EtOH-treated WT controls were performed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD post-hoc test or Kruskal-Wallis and Steel-Dwass-Critchlow-Fligner post-hoc test. Asterisks indicate significance in relation to WT controls (EtOH-treated or untreated, accordingly) with P<0.001, n≥10 worms for all experiments. Letters indicate distinct groupings based on post-hoc statistical comparison among strains. Error bars represent standard error of the mean.</p

Crawl Behaviors Are Inhibited in Water.

<p>Immersion in liquid results in inhibition of many behaviors in wild-type <i>C. elegans</i>. Notably, the feeding behavior foraging (A), spontaneous reversals (B), touch response (C), and light response (D) are all inhibited. To assess disinhibition of crawl during immersion in water, headbend frequency (E) and percent body bends with C-shape (F) were assessed. In liquid, worms exhibited only a fast, C-shaped swim. Statistical analyses comparing behaviors on land vs. water were performed using planned unpaired two-tailed t-test. Asterisks indicate P<0.001, n≥4 assays, ≥10 worms per assay for all experiments A–C, n≥15 for D–F. Error bars represent standard error of the mean.</p