Natural goal-directed behaviors often involve complex sequences of many stimulus-triggered components. Understanding how brain circuits organize such behaviors requires mapping the interactions between an animal, its environment, and its nervous system. Here, we use brain-wide neuronal imaging to study the full performance of mating by the C. elegans male. We show that as mating unfolds in a sequence of component behaviors, the brain operates similarly between instances of each component but distinctly between different components. When the full sensory and behavioral context is taken into account, unique roles emerge for each neuron. Functional correlations between neurons are not fixed but change with behavioral dynamics. From individual neurons to circuits, our study shows how diverse brain-wide dynamics emerge from the integration of sensory perception and motor actions in their natural context.

自然的目标导向行为通常涉及许多刺激触发成分的复杂序列。了解大脑回路如何组织此类行为需要绘制动物、其环境和神经系统之间的相互作用。在这里，我们使用全脑神经元成像来研究雄性秀丽隐杆线虫交配的完整表现。我们表明，当交配在一系列组件行为中展开时，大脑在每个组件的实例之间相似地运行，但在不同的组件之间则截然不同。当考虑到完整的感觉和行为背景时，每个神经元都会出现独特的角色。神经元之间的功能相关性不是固定的，而是随着行为动态而变化。从单个神经元到电路，我们的研究展示了不同的全脑动态是如何从自然环境中的感觉知觉和运动动作的整合中产生的。