The L'Etoile Lab investigates how neurons perceive and transmit information both in response to novel and persistent environmental cues. We use the nematode C. elegans because its neuronal circuitry is completely described, and exhibits robust plasticity. C. elegans also allows us to use powerful cell biological, genetic, behavioral, physiological and molecular techniques to study plasticity. For example, we discovered a pathway in which nuclear translocation of a kinase and small RNAs modify chromatin, which allows environmental cues to sculpt long-term behavior. Our research may inform understanding of normal processes such as learning and memory as well as elucidate what goes awry in disease states such as addiction.