2015/03/22 by Md. Ariful Islam, Richard DeFrancisco, Islam, Md. Ariful +9
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Computational Engineering #FOS: Biological sciences #FOS: Computer and information sciences #FOS: Electrical engineering #Finance #Formal Methods in Verification #Logic in Computer Science (cs.LO) #Model Reduction and Neural Networks #Neurons and Cognition (q-bio.NC) #Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling #Systems and Control (eess.SY) #and Science (cs.CE) #electronic engineering #information engineering
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1503.06480
openalex publication_date 2015/03/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
We present what we believe to be the first formal verification of a biologically realistic (nonlinear ODE) model of a neural circuit in a multicellular organism: Tap Withdrawal (TW) in C. Elegans, the common roundworm. TW is a reflexive behavior exhibited by C. Elegans in response to vibrating the surface on which it is moving; the neural circuit underlying this response is the subject of this investigation. Specifically, we perform reachability analysis on the TW circuit model of Wicks et al. (1996), which enables us to estimate key circuit parameters. Underlying our approach is the use of Fan and Mitra's recently developed technique for automatically computing local discrepancy (convergence and divergence rates) of general nonlinear systems. We show that the results we obtain are in agreement with the experimental results of Wicks et al. (1995). As opposed to the fixed parameters found in most biological models, which can only produce the predominant behavior, our techniques characterize ranges of parameters that produce (and do not produce) all three observed behaviors: reversal of movement, acceleration, and lack of response.