Crescent Loom Weaving and unravelling biophysical motor circuits in an online learning activity


SOCIETY FOR INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
2021 VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING (VAM)
January 3 – Febuary 28, 2021

Meeting Abstract


41-11  Sat Jan 2  Crescent Loom: Weaving and unravelling biophysical motor circuits in an online learning activity Perry, O*; Zornik, E; Reed College; Reed College ezornik@reed.edu

Crescent Loom is a video game that wraps a biophysical neural simulation in an easy-to-use interface where players design the body and brain of a creature in order to navigate 2D underwater levels. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a heightened need for neural circuit simulators for use in remote learning in addition to the ongoing need for high-quality engaging neural simulation and visualization software. Therefore, we have adapted Crescent Loom to serve as an in-silico lab that supports active inquiry-based learning for neurobiology students and can be run from inside a web browser. Neurons are simulated using a resistor-capacitor compartmental model, showing in real time both passive and active current spreading within neurons as well as the state of ion channels within each section of membrane. Players can simultaneously see the activity of neurons in motor circuits and the behavior of the swimming animal. We’ve modified the game for use in remote experimental investigations. Students are given a circuit with obscured connectivity and the tools to do experiments (e.g. blocking neurotransmitters, stimulating specific neurons) while recording from neurons in order to generate a prospective connectivity map. These experiments allow students to observe how experimental manipulations affect behavior, and to identify the cellular and network basis for the observed changes. Using the in-game editor, both educators and students can create and upload their own creatures for use in the activity. Our aim with Crescent Loom is to equip educators with an accessible, flexible, free, and high-quality tool to meet the challenge of teaching neurobiology remotely.

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