生物谷报道：研究人员发明出两种新设备，可以帮助他们研究活体线虫中神经细胞活动与行为之间的关系，新成果发表在8月在线出版的《自然—方法学》期刊上。
线虫是一种精微细小的微生物，它的神经系统非常简单，只有302个神经细胞。然而，如果不是使用非侵入性方法或以不符合生理规律的方法将它们固定，则很难监察它们的神经细胞的活动。Nikos Chronis和同事发明了两种设备，能够以不侵入的方式观察活体线虫的神经活动。这套设备的关键之处是将线虫捕获在一个仅比其身体略大的微小通道中，线虫在其中可以适当地自由活动，但所受到的限制又足以让研究人员监察其神经细胞活动。他们以一种非常特别的受控方式来刺激线虫，比如在其鼻尖上放上某种食物，这样就能记录在受刺激情况下神经细胞的活动。
利用这种设备，研究人员发现了与行动和感觉相关的特定神经细胞。在这种设备的基础上，研究人员还可以发展出更为精制的设备，在更严格的受控条件下监察生理情况更为复杂的微小生命体。（援引科学时报）
原始出处:
Published online: 19 August 2007; | doi:10.1038/nmeth1075
Microfluidics for in vivo imaging of neuronal and behavioral activity in Caenorhabditis elegans
Nikos Chronis1, 2, Manuel Zimmer1 & Cornelia I Bargmann1
1 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10021, USA.
2 Present address: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, 2350 Hayward Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
Correspondence should be addressed to Nikos Chronis chronis@umich.edu
The nematode C. elegans is an excellent model organism for studying behavior at the neuronal level. Because of the organism's small size, it is challenging to deliver stimuli to C. elegans and monitor neuronal activity in a controlled environment. To address this problem, we developed two microfluidic chips, the 'behavior' chip and the 'olfactory' chip for imaging of neuronal and behavioral responses in C. elegans. We used the behavior chip to correlate the activity of AVA command interneurons with the worm locomotion pattern. We used the olfactory chip to record responses from ASH sensory neurons exposed to high-osmotic-strength stimulus. Observation of neuronal responses in these devices revealed previously unknown properties of AVA and ASH neurons. The use of these chips can be extended to correlate the activity of sensory neurons, interneurons and motor neurons with the worm's behavior.
