Factors affecting habituation and recovery from habituation in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

In four experiments, the factors that affect the rate of habituation, the degree of habituation, and the rate of recovery from habituation in a simple reflex circuit in Caenorhabditis elegans were investigated. The results showed that habituation was more pronounced and faster, and that recovery from habituation was more rapid, with short interstimulus intervals (ISIs) than with longer ISIs. Rate of recovery differed in animals that had reached asymptotic response levels when compared with animals still in the descending portion of the habituation curve. Once animals reached asymptotic response levels, rate of recovery appeared to be determined by ISI and not by additional stimuli.