Conductance-based computational model of basal ganglia

Abstract

The basal ganglia play an important role in motor control and their malfunction is implicated in several disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD), in which dopamine concentration is greatly reduced. This is associated with changes in their firing patterns, evidenced by increase in firing rate of output nuclei of basal ganglia and synchronization between neurons of different micro-circuitry of basal ganglia. The most effective way to alleviate the symptoms of PD is to take Levodopa which replenishes dopamine storage in the brain. However, long-term use of Levodopa results in motor fluctuations and dyskinesia. Here, we developed a conductance-based computational model of basal ganglia which considers modulatory effects of dopamine on its target nucleus, that is on striatum. This model can be used to investigate the effect of variations of the dopamine levels on motor fluctuation. Moreover, the effect of applying deep brain electrical stimulation on different nuclei of basal ganglia can be investigated through the proposed model.