A mathematical model for simulating the neural regulation of phasic contractions and slow waves in the distal stomach

Study Purpose: A mathematical model of gastric motility regulation by enteric neurons was developed to infer the relative importance of cellular mechanisms in inhibitory neural regulation of the stomach by enteric neurons and the interaction of inhibitory and excitatory stimulation. This model was coupled to updated models of the interstitial cells of Cajal and gastric smooth muscle cells, which are responsible for generating slow waves and active tension respectively. The proposed model comprises an electrophysiological model coupling ICC and SMC via gap junctions, an active tension model bridging electrophysiology and biomechanics, and a model simulating neural regulation through nitrergic, purinergic, and cholinergic pathways. Through oSPARC, an interactive implemntation of this model is provided.

Data Collection: This is a computational study only.

Primary Conclusion: The user can modify inhibitory and excitatory stimulation frequency, and the duration of stimulation. The use can view the resulting changes in phasic tension generation in the calibrated model. Results from the associated publication reported that the model predicted that the interaction between inhibitory and excitatory neural regulation, when applied with simultaneous and equal intensity, resulted in an inhibition of contraction amplitude almost equivalent to that of inhibitory stimulation (79% vs 77% decrease), while the effect on frequency was overall excitatory, though less than excitatory stimulation alone (66% vs 47% increase).

Curator's Notes

Experimental Design: Neural regulation of gastric motility occurs partly through the regulation of gastric bioelectrical slow waves and phasic contractions. A mathematical model of gastric motility regulation by enteric neurons was developed to infer the relative importance of cellular mechanisms in inhibitory neural regulation of the stomach by enteric neurons and the interaction of inhibitory and excitatory stimulation.

An implementation of the developed model with user-configurable stimulation parameters is provided here via o²S²PARC. This model outputs 120 s of simulated tension on a strip of gastric tissue with excitatory and inhibitory electrical field stimulation 0 - 10 Hz. Further details are available in the published article.

Completeness: This dataset is part of a larger study: "The Virtual Stomach"

Subjects & Samples: This is a computational model dataset; thus no subjects are described.

Primary vs derivative data: Not applicable. This is a computational study. Only a configuration file to view and run the simulation on the oSPARC platform is provided.