title: Modeling effect of GABAergic current in a basal ganglia computational model.
abstract: Electrical high frequency stimulation (HFS) of deep brain regions is a method shown to be clinically effective in different types of movement and neurological disorders. In order to shed light on its mode of action a computational model of the basal ganglia network coupled the HFS as injection current into the cells of the subthalamic nucleus (STN). Its overall increased activity rendered a faithful transmission of sensorimotor input through thalamo-cortical relay cells possible. Our contribution uses this model by Rubin and Terman (J Comput Neurosci, 16, 211-223, 2004) as a starting point and integrates recent findings on the importance of the extracellular concentrations of the inhibiting neurotransmitter GABA. We are able to show in this computational study that besides electrical stimulation a high concentration of GABA and its resulting conductivity in STN cells is able to re-establish faithful thalamocortical relaying, which otherwise broke down in the simulated parkinsonian state.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Signal Processing, University of Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany ; Graduate School for Computing Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Njap
authors.affiliation: Graduate School for Computing Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany ; Institute for Neuro-and Bioinformatics, University of Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens Christian
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Claussen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moser
authors.affiliation: Institute for Signal Processing, University of Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich G
authors.initials: UG
authors.lastname: Hofmann
keywords: Computational model; Deep brain stimulation; Parkinsonian condition; Synaptic conductances; γ-Aminobutyric acid