Computer Modelling of Neuronal Interactions in the Striatum

Sammanfattning: Large parts of the cortex and the thalamus project into the striatum,which serves as the input stage of the basal ganglia. Information isintegrated in the striatal neural network and then passed on, via themedium spiny (MS) projection neurons, to the output stages of thebasal ganglia. In addition to the MS neurons there are also severaltypes of interneurons in the striatum, such as the fast spiking (FS)interneurons. I focused my research on the FS neurons, which formstrong inhibitory synapses onto the MS neurons. These striatal FSneurons are sparsely connected by electrical synapses (gap junctions),which are commonly presumed to synchronise their activity.Computational modelling with the GENESIS simulator was used toinvestigate the effect of gap junctions on a network of synapticallydriven striatal FS neurons. The simulations predicted a reduction infiring frequency dependent on the correlation between synaptic inputsto the neighbouring neurons, but only a slight synchronisation. Thegap junction effects on modelled FS neurons showing sub-thresholdoscillations and stuttering behaviour confirm these results andfurther indicate that hyperpolarising inputs might regulate the onsetof stuttering.The interactions between MS and FS neurons were investigated byincluding a computer model of the MS neuron. The hypothesis was thatdistal GABAergic input would lower the amplitude of back propagatingaction potentials, thereby reducing the calcium influx in thedendrites. The model verified this and further predicted that proximalGABAergic input controls spike timing, but not the amplitude ofdendritic calcium influx after initiation.Connecting models of neurons written in different simulators intonetworks raised technical problems which were resolved by integratingthe simulators within the MUSIC framework. This thesis discusses theissues encountered by using this implementation and gives instructionsfor modifying MOOSE scripts to use MUSIC and provides guidelines forachieving compatibility between MUSIC and other simulators.This work sheds light on the interactions between striatal FS and MSneurons. The quantitative results presented could be used to developa large scale striatal network model in the future, which would beapplicable to both the healthy and pathological striatum.