Serotonergic Axons as Fractional Brownian Motion Paths: Insights Into the Self-Organization of Regional Densities

Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience
Skirmantas JanušonisThomas Vojta

Abstract

All vertebrate brains contain a dense matrix of thin fibers that release serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine), a neurotransmitter that modulates a wide range of neural, glial, and vascular processes. Perturbations in the density of this matrix have been associated with a number of mental disorders, including autism and depression, but its self-organization and plasticity remain poorly understood. We introduce a model based on reflected Fractional Brownian Motion (FBM), a rigorously defined stochastic process, and show that it recapitulates some key features of regional serotonergic fiber densities. Specifically, we use supercomputing simulations to model fibers as FBM-paths in two-dimensional brain-like domains and demonstrate that the resultant steady state distributions approximate the fiber distributions in physical brain sections immunostained for the serotonin transporter (a marker for serotonergic axons in the adult brain). We suggest that this framework can support predictive descriptions and manipulations of the serotonergic matrix and that it can be further extended to incorporate the detailed physical properties of the fibers and their environment.

References

Jan 1, 1992·Physiological Reviews·B L Jacobs, E C Azmitia
Dec 8, 1991·The Journal of Comparative Neurology·T Voigt, A D de Lima
Dec 8, 1991·The Journal of Comparative Neurology·T Voigt, A D de Lima
May 1, 1996·Physical Review. E, Statistical Physics, Plasmas, Fluids, and Related Interdisciplinary Topics·H A MakseH E Stanley
Sep 13, 2002·Physical Review Letters·Rafael MorgadoAlex Hansen
Jan 20, 2004·Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy·Jean-Pierre Hornung
Feb 20, 2004·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Skirmantas JanusonisPasko Rakic
Feb 21, 2006·Physical Review Letters·Michael A LomholtRalf Metzler
Apr 23, 2008·Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·Edward A CodlingSimon Benhamou
Oct 18, 2008·The Journal of Comparative Neurology·Iván CarreraIsabel Rodríguez-Moldes
Jul 25, 2009·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Shota KatoriTakeshi Yagi
Dec 10, 2009·Developmental Neurobiology·Erin R SlatenSkirmantas Janusonis
Jan 15, 2010·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Alicia L HawthorneJerry Silver
Feb 19, 2011·Neuropharmacology·Efrain C AzmitiaPatricia M Whitaker-Azmitia
Apr 15, 2011·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Alicia L HawthorneJerry Silver
Jan 1, 1998·Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and General·Hong QianJames B Bassingthwaighte
Nov 23, 2011·The European Journal of Neuroscience·Vera Kiyasova, Patricia Gaspar
Jan 23, 2013·Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy·Stephanie B LinleyRobert P Vertes
Jul 3, 2013·Nature Methods·Dawen CaiJoshua R Sanes
Sep 11, 2013·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Mariano Soiza-ReillyKathryn G Commons
Feb 4, 2014·Physical Review Letters·Olivier BénichouRaphaël Voituriez
Aug 20, 2014·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Luigi F Agnati, Kjell Fuxe
Nov 10, 2015·Neuron·Benjamin W OkatySusan M Dymecki
Dec 3, 2015·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Edmond Chow, Jeffrey Skolnick
Mar 10, 2017·Journal of Affective Disorders·Yoshiyuki NumasawaTakanori Yokota
May 10, 2017·Journal of Neuroscience Research·Tymoteusz J KajsturaDavid J Linden
Jun 16, 2017·Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·Stephen SmithRamon Grima
Aug 2, 2017·Biophysical Journal·Charles Nicholson, Sabina Hrabětová
Aug 5, 2017·Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience·Giacomo MaddaloniMassimo Pasqualetti
Nov 23, 2017·Scientific Reports·Shota KatoriTakeshi Yagi
Mar 16, 2018·Physical Review Letters·K E PolovnikovM V Tamm
Mar 20, 2018·Physical Review. E·Alexander H O Wada, Thomas Vojta
Jul 30, 2018·Biochimie·Skirmantas Janušonis, Nils Detering
Nov 2, 2018·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Tomoyuki ManoHiroki R Ueda
Nov 2, 2018·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Sabina HrabetovaU Valentin Nägerl
Dec 19, 2018·Nature Methods·Thorsten FalkOlaf Ronneberger

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Oct 21, 2020·Physical Review. E·Thomas VojtaRalf Metzler

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Methods Mentioned

BETA
transgenic
super-resolution microscopy

Software Mentioned

Frontera
Brainbow
Adobe Illustrator CC

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Autism

Autism spectrum disorder is associated with challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, and often accompanied by sensory sensitivities and medical issues. Here is the latest research on autism.