A Mixed Verdict on Neural State Postulates in C. elegans

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Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-09-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22847540
Primary Topic
Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
Type
preprint
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preprint

A Mixed Verdict on Neural State Postulates in C. elegans

Voldman Daniel
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
preprint

A Mixed Verdict on Neural State Postulates in C. elegans

Voldman Daniel
preprint en

Abstract

Neuronic Mechanics ("Neural State Dynamics," NSD) holds that neural population states are organized by four postulates: A1, compression to low dimensionality; A3, a self/world boundary; A4, discrete metastable regimes; A5, non-Markovian, history-dependent dynamics. This preprint tests A1, A4 and A5 against Kato et al. (2015) calcium-imaging data from five immobilized Caenorhabditis elegans (WT_NoStim condition). Population activity was reduced via principal component analysis (PCA) and modeled with a two-unit FitzHugh-Nagumo (FHN) system for reversal and forward ensembles; a Gaussian hidden Markov model (HMM) tested discreteness against a continuous baseline and the behavioral labels; held-out accuracy and forecast horizon tested history-dependence; symbolic regression (PySR) fit the FHN derivative laws. A1 failed: the top three principal components explained a mean of 44.34% of raw variance (50.61% after a derivative-scaled reanalysis), against a preregistered 65% threshold. A4 failed its primary criterion (no small-state HMM out-cross-validated the continuous baseline) but showed a significant secondary finding: decoded states matched behavioral labels at 57.35%, versus a 35.88% null (p=0.00, 1000 shuffles). A5 was supported: held-out R2 rose 0.22 percentage points with history length (95% CI [0.14, 0.35]) and prediction time rose 5 samples with embedding dimension (95% CI [2, 7]). A3 was not scored: the immobilized worms provide no self-generated movement to test a boundary against. PySR reduced both derivative laws to constant fits; UDE (Julia-based universal differential equation) escalation was disabled by a Python/Julia interoperability crash, an infrastructure limitation, not a scientific choice. The verdict is mixed: compression and discrete-regime structure were not supported; history-dependence was.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
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