AS1, AS2, AS3, AS4, AS5, AS6, AS7, AS8, AS9, AS10, AS11
Type: Motor neuron
In MoW: ASn
In WormWiring:
AS01h[a],
AS02h[a],
AS03h[a],
AS04h[a],
AS05h[a],
AS06h[a],
AS07h[a],
AS08h[a],
AS08m[p],
AS09h[a],
AS09m[p],
AS10h[p],
AS10m[p],
AS11h[p],
AS11m[p]
In Wormbase: ASn, AS1, AS2, AS3, AS4, AS5,
AS6, AS7, AS8, AS9, AS10, AS11
Lineage: P1.apa, P2.apa, P3.apa
P4.apa, P5.apa, P6.apa, P7.apa
P8.apa, P9.apa, P10.apa, P11.apa
Location: Body (ventral nerve cord)
Description: Ventral cord motor neurons, born postembryonically. Innervate dorsal muscles, no ventral counterpart, similar to VAn but receive additional synaptic input from AVB. Note that unlike AS1-10, the commissure of AS11 originates from the posterior process. All AS commissures to DC run from the right side of the body. Hermaphrodites and males exhibit some differences in ASn connectivity. Also, in males, the AS11 cell body lies posterior to the male-specific CP9 neuron, which defines the anterior boundary of the male preanal
ganglion (see Male Tail Cell ID). In males, AS11 is, therefore, considered part of the pre-anal ganglion rather than the ventral nerve cord.
Neurotransmitter/ Neuropeptide:
- Acetylcholine
- NLP-21; neuropeptide-like peptide
(Loer, 2010; Duerr et al, 2008; von Stetina et al, 2007; Rand and Nonet, 1997-Appendix 2)
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Click pictures for higher resolution images
Localization of AS motor neurons within the ventral nerve cord |
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(Based on the Mind of a Worm) |
Schematic diagrams of
the ventral cord motor neurons
AS Neurons
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DA and DB Neurons
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VA Neurons
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VB Neurons
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VC Neurons
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DD and VD Neurons
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In all diagrams,axon processes with
neuromuscular synapses (NMJ) are shown as whereas dendritic processes where synaptic inputs are received are shown as .
Class A axons run forward in both
cords (VNC and DC) whereas the class B axons run backwards. The dendritic branches
of the dorsal and ventral class A neurons run in opposite directions as do those
from class Bneurons. Ventral class D neurons receive their synaptic input on
the dorsal side and give NMJ's on the ventral side. The dorsal type D neurons
have half the periodicity of their ventral counterparts and receive synapses
on the ventral side and give NMJ's on the dorsal side. Class AS neurons only
synapse on the dorsal side and have no ventral counterpart, whereas, the class
C neurons only synapse on the ventral side. The synapses from class C motor
neurons onto body muscles are less dense than for the other classes (White
J. et al, 1976.)
Synaptic map and process positioning of the ventral cord motor neurons
Connections of each motor neuron class
Motor neuron class |
Chemical synapses to other motor neurons |
Chemical synapses from |
Gap junctions |
AS |
DA, DD, VD |
AVA, AVB, AVD, AVE |
DA, VA, AVA |
DA |
DB, DD, VD |
AVA, AVD, AVE, HSNR, PVCL, SABVL |
AS, VA, AVA |
DB |
AS, DD, VD |
DVA, PVC, PVR |
DB, VB, AVB |
DD |
VD |
RID, VC1-3 |
DD, VD |
VA* |
DD, VA, VB, VD |
AVA, AVB, AVD, AVE |
AS, DA, AVA, SABD |
VB* |
DD, VA, VD |
PVC |
VB, DB, AVB |
VD |
VA, VB |
AVEL, PVNR, VC1-3 |
DD, VA, VD, PVPR |
(Based on the Mind of a Worm and Haspel & Donovan 2011; *VA1,3,5 and VB1,4,7 have slightly different connections than the remainder of the class) |
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