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Model-based analysis and control of a network of basal ganglia spiking neurons in the normal and Parkinsonian states*

Jianbo Liu1, Hassan K Khalil1 and Karim G Oweiss1,2,3

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Controlling the spatiotemporal firing pattern of an intricately connected network of neurons through microstimulation is highly desirable in many applications. We investigated in this paper the feasibility of using a model-based approach to the analysis and control of a basal ganglia (BG) network model of Hodgkin–Huxley (HH) spiking neurons through microstimulation. Detailed analysis of this network model suggests that it can reproduce the experimentally observed characteristics of BG neurons under a normal and a pathological Parkinsonian state. A simplified neuronal firing rate model, identified from the detailed HH network model, is shown to capture the essential network dynamics. Mathematical analysis of the simplified model reveals the presence of a systematic relationship between the network's structure and its dynamic response to spatiotemporally patterned microstimulation. We show that both the network synaptic organization and the local mechanism of microstimulation can impose tight constraints on the possible spatiotemporal firing patterns that can be generated by the microstimulated network, which may hinder the effectiveness of microstimulation to achieve a desired objective under certain conditions. Finally, we demonstrate that the feedback control design aided by the mathematical analysis of the simplified model is indeed effective in driving the BG network in the normal and Parskinsonian states to follow a prescribed spatiotemporal firing pattern. We further show that the rhythmic/oscillatory patterns that characterize a dopamine-depleted BG network can be suppressed as a direct consequence of controlling the spatiotemporal pattern of a subpopulation of the output Globus Pallidus internalis (GPi) neurons in the network. This work may provide plausible explanations for the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's disease and pave the way towards a model-based, network level analysis and closed-loop control and optimization of DBS parameters, among many other applications.


Footnote
*  Based on 'Model-based spatiotemporal analysis and control of a network of spiking basal ganglia neurons' by Liu J, Khalil H K and Oweiss K G 2011 in the Proceedings of the 5th IEEE EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering. © 2011 IEEE.
PACS

87.19.L- Neuroscience

87.17.-d Cell processes

87.17.Aa Modeling, computer simulation of cell processes

87.19.X- Diseases

87.19.R- Mechanical and electrical properties of tissues and organs

87.18.Hf Spatiotemporal pattern formation in cellular populations

Subjects

Medical physics

Biological physics

Dates

Issue 4 (August 2011)

Received 28 March 2011, accepted for publication 28 June 2011

Published 20 July 2011



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