Figure 7.
Bs Interneurons Compensate for Lack of Me Input by Increasing Nociceptive Input
(A) Fraction of input from nociceptive neurons onto Bs interneurons increases when Me neurons are silenced by the targeted expression of TNT, compared with control. ∗∗∗p < 0.001, chi-square test.
(B) Calcium responses (mean ± SEM) of Bs interneurons to optogenetic activation of nociceptive neurons when Me neurons are silenced (mechano > TNT).
(B′) Quantification of calcium responses in (B). n = 9 animals for each condition. ∗p < 0.05, single-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test.
(C) Schematic of behavioral experiments in which the Me neurons (mech) were temporarily or permanently silenced, and the nociceptive neurons (noci) were activated. Strong nociceptive activation can elicit rolling (Ohyama et al., 2015).
(D–F) Rolling probabilities upon activation (optogenetic in D, D′, and F; thermogenetic in E and E′) of nociceptive neurons and permanent (D–E′) or temporary (F) silencing of Me neurons (mech). Silencing achieved by targeted expression of TNT (D and E), Shits1 (D′ and F), or Kir (E′). Note that genotypes in (B) and (D) are the same. For (D): experimental, n = 298 animals; control, n = 426. For (D′): experimental, n = 310; control, n = 322. For (E), experimental, n = 550; control, n = 526. For (E′): experimental, n = 580; control, n = 512. For (F): experimental, n = 399; control, n = 305. Error bars represent 95% confidence interval. ∗p < 0.05, ∗∗p < 0.01, and ∗∗∗p < 0.001, chi-square test.
(G) Summary of connectivity and behavioral effects of the developmental silencing of Me neurons. Abbreviations as in Figure 1C.