Title: Intra- and intergenerational time perception is controlled by adrenergic signaling in C. elegans

Eugene Lee

Horvitz Lab

17^th November 2022, Thursday, 10am EST, Hybrid

In-person: Whitehead Institute Auditorium, Ground floor

455 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142

Zoom: https://mit.zoom.us/j/8821900154?pwd=aGZ2UWNVeGdHQ2VWS1VtU1hpakZwUT09

Meeting ID: 882 190 0154

Password: time

Abstract:

Life is embedded in the fabric of time and space. Animals must recognize and adaptively respond to temporal patterns of stimuli they encounter to optimize survival both within and across generations. To explore the molecular and cellular correlates of the temporal dimensions of behavior, I looked to the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. I developed a trial-by-trial associative learning paradigm that pairs a non-noxious odor stimulus with a noxious light stimulus. I discovered that C. elegans can learn to distinguish temporal patterns of stimuli. In particular, C. elegans can be trace-conditioned; which has been proposed to reflect “conscious awareness” in humans. Interestingly, worms can alter their temporal processing capabilities even across generations -- trained worms can produce progeny with modified temporal responses. An adrenergic feedforward relay brain-to-gonad-to-embryo transduction system allows the transmission of intergenerational time processing capabilities, revealing a mechanism that unifies time processing both within and across generations.​