Figure 1. PVD neurons respond to harsh touch and cold temperature.

a–c. PVD neurons display complex dendritic arbors that envelop the animal. Confocal Z-projection of adult (left side) showing PVDL labeled with F49H12.4::GFP marker (anterior to left, ventral side corresponds to inside surface of looped worm). PVDR on the right side is excluded from this confocal series. Insets show enlarged view of posterior-lateral location of PVDL cell soma with ventrally projecting axon and orthogonal array of dendritic branches. Scale bar in panel A is 15 μm. d–e. Calcium responses to harsh (d) and gentle (e) touch. Each red trace represents the average percentage change in normalized YFP/CFP ratio (R/R₀) for 20 individual recordings. The black triangle indicates the time at which the mechanical stimulus (see Methods) was applied. Gray shading indicates SEM of the mean response. f. Behavioral responses to cold shock. Shown are percentages of animals (n=30) displaying avoidance behavior (omega bends) during a recording of animals experiencing acute temperature change (20-15° C). The blue box indicates a 50 second interval during which the buffer temperature was 15° C; temperature was 20° C during the remainder of the recording. Error bars indicate SEM; PVD- animals (in which both PVD neurons ablated by laser microsurgery) were significantly less responsive than intact animals (* P< .05) according to the Student’s t test. g. Calcium response to cold shock. Red trace represents the average percentage change in R/R₀ for 20 individual recordings; gray shading indicates SEM of the mean response. The lower line indicates the buffer temperature during the recording.