nematode: connecting data to theory.

Neural connectomes, i.e. neural connectivity maps, are important for uncovering the design principles of nervous systems, and there has been a huge interest in neuroscience in determining connectomes of different species. Up to now, C. elegans worm is the only animal with the known connectome. However, can such maps really contribute to our understanding of animal behavior? I will argue that a detailed connectome is not sufficient to understand network dynamics, which in turn are related to animal's behavior. What is additionally necessary, is the type of synaptic signaling mediated by connections (i.e. whether excitation or inhibition). But the determination of signaling maps is challenging even for relatively small neural circuits in C. elegans due to "astronomical numbers" of possible synaptic patterns. I will discuss a powerful and fast parallel computational technique that in combination with behavioral data of C. elegans enables us to find optimal synaptic signaling for network controlling locomotion in these worms. This signaling map can be used to create realistic models of well studied behaviors of C. elegans, such as chemotaxis or thermotaxis.

Reference:
Rakowski F, Karbowski J (2017) PLoS Comput Biol (in press); doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005834.