Abstract
Animals generate predictable patterns of behavior that are robustly synchronized with the developmental clock. However, the long-term establishment of time-locked behaviors across development, and the neuronal alterations that may impair them, remain underexplored. Here, by quantifying the temporal synchronization of behavior in multiple isolated C. elegans individuals throughout their complete development time, we show that robust behavioral synchronization consolidates across stages as development progresses. Analyses of multiple mutant populations with perturbed neuronal function or structure reveal that neurodegeneration in specific circuits impairs the developmental organization of behavior. In one of the cases, protection from neurodegeneration of the circuit of touch receptor neurons restored normal modes of long-term behavior. Moreover, at the neuronal activity level, we found altered activity patterns in downstream motor neurons following neurodegeneration. These results suggest the impairment of developmental patterns of synchronized behavior by localized neurodegenerative processes within the nervous system.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
