Palyanov Andrey, Khayrulin Sergey, Larson Stephen D, Dibert Alexander
A.P. Ershov Institute of Informatics Systems SB RAS, Lab. of Complex Systems Simulation, Acad. Lavrentjev pr., Russia.
In Silico Biol. 2011;11(3-4):137-47. doi: 10.3233/ISB-2012-0445.
The nematode C. elegans is the only animal with a known neuronal wiring diagram, or "connectome". During the last three decades, extensive studies of the C. elegans have provided wide-ranging data about it, but few systematic ways of integrating these data into a dynamic model have been put forward. Here we present a detailed demonstration of a virtual C. elegans aimed at integrating these data in the form of a 3D dynamic model operating in a simulated physical environment. Our current demonstration includes a realistic flexible worm body model, muscular system and a partially implemented ventral neural cord. Our virtual C. elegans demonstrates successful forward and backward locomotion when sending sinusoidal patterns of neuronal activity to groups of motor neurons. To account for the relatively slow propagation velocity and the attenuation of neuronal signals, we introduced "pseudo neurons" into our model to simulate simplified neuronal dynamics. The pseudo neurons also provide a good way of visualizing the nervous system's structure and activity dynamics.
线虫秀丽隐杆线虫是唯一一种拥有已知神经元连接图（即“连接组”）的动物。在过去三十年里，对线虫的广泛研究提供了关于它的大量数据，但几乎没有提出将这些数据整合到动态模型中的系统方法。在此，我们展示了一个详细的虚拟秀丽隐杆线虫，旨在将这些数据整合为在模拟物理环境中运行的三维动态模型。我们当前的展示包括一个逼真的柔性虫体模型、肌肉系统以及部分实现的腹侧神经索。当向运动神经元组发送神经元活动的正弦模式时，我们的虚拟秀丽隐杆线虫展示出了成功的向前和向后运动。为了解释相对较慢的传播速度和神经元信号的衰减，我们在模型中引入了“伪神经元”来模拟简化的神经元动力学。伪神经元还为可视化神经系统的结构和活动动态提供了一种很好的方式。
