Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42156741›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

An epifluorescence microscope design for naturalistic behavior and cellular activity in freely moving Caenorhabditis elegans.

Sebastian N Wittekindt, Hannah Owens, Aurélie Guisnet, Lennard Wittekindt, Michael Hendricks

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Sebastian N WittekindtIntegrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Hannah OwensIntegrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Aurélie GuisnetDepartment of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-1102-6017
Lennard WittekindtIndependent Researcher, Immenreich, Lindau, Germany.
Michael HendricksDepartment of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. michael.hendricks@mcgill.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-3408-3858

Funding

Enhancing and expanding the CGC Strain CollectionP40OD010440 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI Ann E. Rougvie · 2012 to 2026
$7.5M
Gouvernement du Canada | Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Instituts de Recherche en Santé du Canada) PJT-155980Gouvernement du Canada | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Conseil de Recherches en Sciences Naturelles et en Génie du Canada) PGS/D-579692Gouvernement du Canada | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Conseil de Recherches en Sciences Naturelles et en Génie du Canada) RGPIN-2020-04928NIH HHS P40 OD010440
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Understanding the neural basis of behavior requires imaging cellular activity in freely moving animals, which typically demands expensive, restrictive microscopy setups. To overcome these barriers, we developed Wormspy, a cost-effective, open-source epifluorescence microscopy system for high-magnification imaging and tracking of Caenorhabditis elegans. Wormspy enables the simultaneous recording of neuronal activity and behavioral dynamics without needing the animal to be restrained. We demonstrate its utility in imaging body wall muscles, sensory neurons, and subcellular calcium events within interneuron axons. Our platform reproduces known mutant phenotypes and uncovers, to the best of our knowledge, previously inaccessible sensorimotor correlations. We show that Wormspy provides a robust, modular framework that lowers technical barriers to high-resolution neural imaging, enabling flexible experimental designs for dissecting behavior in freely moving organisms.

Indexed as

Behavior, AnimalCaenorhabditis elegansAnimalsAxonsCalciumInterneuronsMicroscopy, FluorescenceMusclesSensory Receptor CellsCalcium

Identifiers

PMID42156741
PMCPMC13187321

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.