TY - JOUR TI - Multiple neuronal networks coordinate Hydra mechanosensory behavior AU - Badhiwala, Krishna N AU - Primack, Abby S AU - Juliano, Celina E AU - Robinson, Jacob T A2 - Abdus-Saboor, Ishmail A2 - Sengupta, Piali VL - 10 PY - 2021 DA - 2021/07/30 SP - e64108 C1 - eLife 2021;10:e64108 DO - 10.7554/eLife.64108 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.64108 AB - Hydra vulgaris is an emerging model organism for neuroscience due to its small size, transparency, genetic tractability, and regenerative nervous system; however, fundamental properties of its sensorimotor behaviors remain unknown. Here, we use microfluidic devices combined with fluorescent calcium imaging and surgical resectioning to study how the diffuse nervous system coordinates Hydra's mechanosensory response. Mechanical stimuli cause animals to contract, and we find this response relies on at least two distinct networks of neurons in the oral and aboral regions of the animal. Different activity patterns arise in these networks depending on whether the animal is contracting spontaneously or contracting in response to mechanical stimulation. Together, these findings improve our understanding of how Hydra’s diffuse nervous system coordinates sensorimotor behaviors. These insights help reveal how sensory information is processed in an animal with a diffuse, radially symmetric neural architecture unlike the dense, bilaterally symmetric nervous systems found in most model organisms. KW - Hydra KW - mechanosensory behavior KW - regeneration KW - sensory-motor response KW - diffuse nerve net JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -