Matthew Beverly

Graduate Student

Thermosensory behavioral responses in C. elegans

Dysfunction of sensory signal transduction and neuronal circuit function underlie multiple disorders including the inability to correctly interpret environmental stimuli, neuronal degeneration, and learning and memory deficiencies. However, it is difficult to study how environmental stimuli are sensed and processed through the complex neuronal circuits of higher organisms. C. elegans is an excellent model organism in which to investigate the translation of a physical stimulus, like temperature, into a biological response, like thermotactic navigation behavior. My goal is to identify and characterize new neuronal and molecular components underlying thermosensory behavioral responses in C. elegans. Given the high degree of conservation of neuronal signaling mechanisms across species. I expect that this work will lead to a more complete understanding of sensory signal transduction, neuronal plasticity and neural circuit function in other organisms.