Does the modeled activity track any real world measurements, though? If we're going to claim any real veracity from a simulation then we need to crosscheck it against real measurements, right?
'Attempted' implies 'not succeeded', though? And 'just basic electrochemistry' triggers a massive "is it, though?" response. Sure, we know what theory tells us, I want to know if observations align with theory.
Succeeded within what level of precision? The project is called OpenWorm, they have hydrodynamic models for macroscale cellular behavior and electrochemical simulations for modeling ion channels needed for the neural network. I don't have a reference handy but you should be able to find ample papers discussing accurate electrochemical modeling of synapses. The issue is that the models are complex enough that simulating a couple hundred neurons is expensive. As far as having accurate synaptic data so that they're simulating a specific worm rather than a random one pulled out of the æther, I believe that's still a work in progress.
