Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Tissue mechanics and somatosensory neural responses govern touch sensation in C. elegans

View ORCID ProfileA. Sanzeni, View ORCID ProfileS. Katta, B.C. Petzold, View ORCID ProfileB.L. Pruitt, View ORCID ProfileM.B. Goodman, M. Vergassola
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/471904
A. Sanzeni
Department of Physics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0374, USAUnit on Neural Computation and Behavior, NIMH, Bethesda MD 20892, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for A. Sanzeni
S. Katta
Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for S. Katta
B.C. Petzold
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
B.L. Pruitt
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USADepartment of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for B.L. Pruitt
M.B. Goodman
Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for M.B. Goodman
M. Vergassola
Department of Physics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0374, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

The sense of touch hinges on tissues transducing stimuli applied to the skin and somatosensory neurons converting mechanical inputs into currents. Like mammalian Pacinian corpuscles, the light-touch response of the prime model organism C. elegans adapts rapidly, and is symmetrically activated by the onset and offset of a step indentation. Here, we propose a quantitative model that combines transduction of stimuli across the skin and subsequent gating of mechanoelectrical channels. For mechanics, we use an elastic model based on geometrically-nonlinear deformations of a pressurized cylindrical shell. For gating, we build upon consequences of the dermal layer’s thinness and tangential stimuli. Our model demonstrates how the onset-offset symmetry arises from the coupling of mechanics and adaptation, and accounts for experimental neural responses to a broad variety of stimuli. Predicted effects of modifications in the mechanics or the internal pressure of the body are tested against mechanical and neurophysiological experiments.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted November 16, 2018.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Tissue mechanics and somatosensory neural responses govern touch sensation in C. elegans
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
Share
Tissue mechanics and somatosensory neural responses govern touch sensation in C. elegans
A. Sanzeni, S. Katta, B.C. Petzold, B.L. Pruitt, M.B. Goodman, M. Vergassola
bioRxiv 471904; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/471904
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Tissue mechanics and somatosensory neural responses govern touch sensation in C. elegans
A. Sanzeni, S. Katta, B.C. Petzold, B.L. Pruitt, M.B. Goodman, M. Vergassola
bioRxiv 471904; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/471904

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Neuroscience
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (1641)
  • Biochemistry (2721)
  • Bioengineering (1902)
  • Bioinformatics (10201)
  • Biophysics (4174)
  • Cancer Biology (3202)
  • Cell Biology (4522)
  • Clinical Trials (135)
  • Developmental Biology (2831)
  • Ecology (4447)
  • Epidemiology (2041)
  • Evolutionary Biology (7213)
  • Genetics (5463)
  • Genomics (6793)
  • Immunology (2379)
  • Microbiology (7462)
  • Molecular Biology (2978)
  • Neuroscience (18529)
  • Paleontology (135)
  • Pathology (472)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (776)
  • Physiology (1147)
  • Plant Biology (2692)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (679)
  • Synthetic Biology (885)
  • Systems Biology (2840)
  • Zoology (465)