Decoding locomotion from population neural activity in moving C. elegans

We investigated the neural representation of locomotion in the nematode C. elegans by recording population calcium activity during movement. We report that population activity more accurately decodes locomotion than any single neuron. Two largely distinct subpopulations are informative for decoding velocity and curvature, and different neurons’ activities contribute features relevant for different aspects of a behavior or different instances of a behavioral motif. We examined the subpopulations of our signals to investigate how the decoder utilizes information from the population. We inspected the neural weights assigned by the decoder and found some of our highest weighted neurons had activity traces that matched only specific features of our behavior. This indicates that the neural signals are distinct and not simply copies of the same signal. Finally, we present preliminary results from an investigation into the stereotypy of the neural code across animals.