Research has demonstrated individual differences in and successfully extracted commonalities from the whole-brain activity of roundworms. The researchers also found that computer simulations based on the whole-brain activity of roundworms more accurately reflect real-brain activity when they include so-called 'noise,' or probabilistic elements.
Research has demonstrated individual differences in and successfully extracted commonalities from the whole-brain activity of roundworms. The researchers also found that computer simulations based on the whole-brain activity of roundworms more accurately reflect real-brain activity when they include so-called 'noise,' or probabilistic elements.
First, the team of scientists measured the neural activity of each cell that makes up a primitive brain in the roundworms' head area. To achieve this, the worms were placed in a microfluidic chip, a tiny device designed for worms to be able to"wiggle" backward and forward while keeping them within the field of view of the objective lens. Then, using a confocal microscope, the scientists filmed how the neurons reacted to changes in salt concentrations.
The data derived from these"films" of roundworm brains were then used to create computer simulations of roundworm brains. However, the first simulations that contained only deterministic elements generated decaying"neural" activity. By adding"noise" to the models, the team achieved an accurate representation of the roundworms' whole-brain activity.
"We originally designed this study to investigate the neural mechanisms involved when roundworms are attracted to salt," Iino explains."However, to measure whole-brain activity, we needed to keep the roundworms in a narrow channel so that they would not move away. We would like to improve the microscope so that we can track freely moving roundworms and analyze whole-brain activity while they are being attracted to salt.
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