Integrative modeling of Paramecium, a swimming neuron

Schedule
Wednesday, September 23, 2020
13:30 UTC
Romain Brette

Institut de la Vision, Université Pierre-and-Marie-Curie

Host: Transatlantic Systems Neuro

Event Information

Host

Transatlantic Systems Neuro

Duration

70 minutes

Abstract

Paramecium is a unicellular organism that swims in fresh water using cilia. When it is stimulated (mechanically, chemically, optically, thermally, etc), it often swims backward then turns and swims forward again: this is called the avoiding reaction. This reaction is triggered by a calcium-based action potential. For this reason, it enjoyed a period of glory in the 1970s as a model organism for neuroscience. I will describe the behavior and electrophysiology of this “swimming neuron”, then I will present our ongoing attempts at developing an integrative quantitative model of Paramecium.

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