Behavioural phenomics is an attempt to capture behavioural diversity at a large scale. Diversity and scale are both important: if we can detect different kinds of behaviour changes in many conditions, it makes it possible to look much more broadly for molecules and genetic variants that affect behaviour than has been possible in the past. For our research we focus on the model organism C. elegans, a nematode worm with a well-characterised nervous system that shares many key neurotransmitters with us including dopamine, serotonin, and GABA among others. C. elegans is small enough that we can transfer animals by pipetting them in liquids which makes large-scale experiments possible. Microbes make many kinds of bioactive molecules that are a rich source of medicines. Some are known to affect neural function, but the vast majority are unexplored. Our approach to Behavioural Phenomics will make it possible to discover many more.

We are a multidisciplinary team featuring experts ranging from physicists to microbiologists. We have developed imaging technology and software that makes it possible to measure worm behaviour with a precision and at a scale that makes new kinds of experiments possible. Our focus is on using this capability to discover useful molecules and new uses for known drugs. To identify new neuroactive molecules we are looking at natural sources, especially bacteria and fungi, that we know produce interesting compounds (including many of our most important drugs) but that are understudied in terms of their effects on behaviour. To identify new uses for existing drugs, we make models of rare genetic diseases using C. elegans and study how they react to approved drugs to develop more effective treatments.

Faster behaviour experiments are driving drug repurposing experiments that may identify treatments for rare neurodevelopmental disorders. Large-scale screens of natural products will expand the neuroactive pharmacopoeia and may eventually lead to new drugs for psychiatric disorders.