Somatosensory neurons integrate the geometry of skin deformation and mechanotransduction channels to shape touch sensing.

ABSTRACT: Touch sensation hinges on force transfer across the skin and activation of mechanosensitive ion channels along the somatosensory neurons that invade the skin. This skin-nerve sensory system demands a quantitative model that spans the application of mechanical loads to channel activation. Unlike prior models of the dynamic responses of touch receptor neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans (Eastwood et al., 2015), which substituted a single effective channel for the ensemble along the TRNs, this study integrates body mechanics and the spatial recruitment of the various channels. We demonstrate that this model captures mechanical properties of the worm's body and accurately reproduces neural responses to simple stimuli. It also captures responses to complex stimuli featuring non-trivial spatial pa

SUBMITTER: Sanzeni A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6692131 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature