Kraeuter Kayla, Reith Carley, Kolber Benedict J, Neilan Rachael Miller
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA.
Department of Engineering, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA.
Spora. 2024;10(1):65-82. doi: 10.61403/2473-5493.1094. Epub 2024 Jul 1.
Neuropathic pain is caused by nerve injury and involves brain areas such as the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA). We developed the first 3-D agent-based model (ABM) of neuropathic pain-related neurons in the CeA using NetLogo3D. The execution time of a single ABM simulation using realistic parameters (e.g., 13,000 neurons and 22,000+ neural connections) is an important factor in the model's usability. In this paper, we describe our efforts to improve the computational efficiency of our 3-D ABM, which resulted in a 28% reduction in execution time on average for a typical simulation. With this upgraded model, we performed one- and two-parameter sensitivity analyses to study the sensitivity of model output to variability in several key parameters along the anterior to posterior axis of the CeA. These results highlight the importance of computational modeling in exploring spatial and cell-type specific properties of brain regions to inform future wet lab experiments.
神经性疼痛由神经损伤引起，涉及诸如杏仁核中央核（CeA）等脑区。我们使用NetLogo3D开发了首个基于主体的CeA中与神经性疼痛相关神经元的三维模型（ABM）。使用实际参数（例如，13000个神经元和22000多个神经连接）进行单次ABM模拟的执行时间是该模型可用性的一个重要因素。在本文中，我们描述了为提高三维ABM的计算效率所做的努力，这使得典型模拟的执行时间平均减少了28%。利用这个升级后的模型，我们进行了单参数和双参数敏感性分析，以研究模型输出对沿CeA前后轴的几个关键参数变化的敏感性。这些结果凸显了计算建模在探索脑区的空间和细胞类型特异性特性以指导未来湿实验室实验方面的重要性。
