Modeling of the nervous system: From molecular dynamics and synaptic modulation to neuron spiking activity

Abstract

The brain is a perfect example of an integrated multi-scale system, as the complex interactions taking place at the molecular level regulate neuronal activity that further modifies the function of millions of neurons connected by trillions of synapses, ultimately giving rise to complex function and behavior at the system level. Likewise, the spatial complexity is accompanied by a complex temporal integration of events taking place at the microsecond scale leading to slower changes occurring at the second, minute and hour scales. In the present study we illustrate our approach to model and simulate the spatio-temporal complexity of the nervous system by developing a multi-scale model integrating synaptic models into the neuronal and ultimately network levels. We apply this approach to a concrete example and demonstrate how changes at the level of kinetic parameters of a receptor model are translated into significant changes in the firing of a pyramidal neuron. These results illustrate the abilities of our modeling approach and support its direct application to the evaluation of the effects of drugs, from functional target to integrated system.

Current Trends and Changes in Use of Membrane Molecular Dynamics Simulations within Academia and the Pharmaceutical Industry

“…The rapidity which is now being achieved with MD means a much greater combination of cross-discipline focal areas such as genetics, toxicology and immunology, to name a few [ 96 , 150 ]. Using toxicology as an example, the use of predefined membrane models for metabolites, toxins and cellular byproducts analysis with MD means these can be tested rapidly by simply introducing the new compounds [ 22 , 24 ]. This is akin to the testing of novel compounds mentioned previously, where several cellular membranes of interest are designed and maintained as a base model system.…”

“…Among the most utilized aspects of MD are drug targets incorporating membrane proteins. These include receptors, such as CD19 and CD20, with regulatory effects in cells, to neurologically based receptors effecting synaptic transmission, and complex machinery such as ATP Synthase or Rhodopsin [ 22 ]. Much of the early utilized biologics design approaches only relied on static structures, such as superposed models, to generate chimeric anti-CD19 in CAR-T cells.…”