Reduced muscle contraction and a relaxed posture during sleep-like Lethargus
- PMID: 24058817
- PMCID: PMC3670164
- DOI: 10.4161/worm.19499
Reduced muscle contraction and a relaxed posture during sleep-like Lethargus
Abstract
Sleep is characterized by reduced muscle activity resulting in reduced movement and a typical posture compatible with relaxed muscles. Prior to each molt, C. elegans larvae go through a phase of behavioral quiescence called Lethargus. Lethargus has sleep-like properties, but a specific posture has not yet been described. Do C. elegans larvae relax their muscles during sleep and do they assume a typical posture? We measured worm posture and body wall muscle activity using calcium imaging across the sleep-wake-like cycle. We found that worms were less curved and had less muscle activity during the sleep-like state. We conclude that during Lethargus, muscle activity is reduced, resulting in a relaxed body posture typical for a sleep-like state.
Keywords: GCaMP; Lethargus; calcium; muscle; posture; sleep.
Figures
![Figure 1.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/3670164/bin/worm-1-12-g1.gif)
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