The perception of innocuous temperatures is crucial for thermoregulation. The TRP ion channels TRPV1 and TRPM2 have been implicated in warmth detection, yet their precise roles remain unclear. A key challenge is the low prevalence of warmth-sensitive sensory neurons, comprising fewer than 10% of rodent dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Using calcium imaging of >20,000 cultured mouse DRG neurons, we uncovered distinct contributions of TRPV1 and TRPM2 to warmth sensitivity. TRPV1’s absence – and to a lesser extent absence of TRPM2 – reduces the number of neurons responding to warmth. Additionally, TRPV1 mediates the rapid, dynamic response to a warmth challenge. Behavioural tracking in a whole-body thermal preference assay revealed that these cellular differences shape nuanced thermal behaviours. Drift diffusion modelling of decision-making in mice exposed to varying temperatures showed that TRPV1 deletion impairs evidence accumulation, reducing the precision of thermal choice, while TRPM2 deletion increases overall preference for warmer environments that wildtype mice avoid. It remains unclear whether TRPM2 in DRG sensory neurons or elsewhere mediates thermal preference. Our findings suggest that different aspects of thermal information, such as stimulation speed and temperature magnitude, are encoded by distinct TRP channel mechanisms.

Munc13 plays a crucial role in short-term synaptic plasticity by regulating synaptic vesicle (SV) exocytosis and neurotransmitter release at the presynaptic terminals. However, the intricate mechanisms governing these processes have remained elusive due to the presence of multiple functional domains within Munc13, each playing distinct roles in neurotransmitter release. Here, we report a coordinated mechanism in the Caenorhabditis elegans Munc13 homolog UNC-13 that controls the functional switch of UNC-13 during synaptic transmission. Mutations disrupting the interactions of C1 and C2B with diacylglycerol (DAG) and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP₂) on the plasma membrane induced the gain-of-function state of UNC-13L, the long UNC-13 isoform, resulting in enhanced SV release. Concurrent mutations in both domains counteracted this enhancement, highlighting the functional interdependence of C1 and C2B. Intriguingly, the individual C1 and C2B domains exhibited significantly stronger facilitation of SV release compared to the presence of both domains, supporting a mutual inhibition of C1 and C2B under basal conditions. Moreover, the N-terminal C2A and X domains exhibited opposite regulation on the functional switch of UNC-13L. Furthermore, we identified the polybasic motif in the C2B domain that facilitates SV release. Finally, we found that disruption of C1 and C2B membrane interaction in UNC-13S, the short isoform, leads to functional switch between gain-of-function and loss-of-function. Collectively, our findings provide a novel mechanism for SV exocytosis wherein UNC-13 undergoes functional switches through the coordination of its major domains, thereby regulating synaptic transmission and short-term synaptic plasticity.