Thalamo-subthalamic pathway and the Basal Ganglia in motor sequences selection

I. JOURDAN, P. BARTTFELD, L. RIQUELME, B. S. ZANUTTO

Paraná - Entre Rios

Congreso; Congreso Argentino de Bioingeniería.; 2005

SABI

Ivan Jourdan, Pablo Barttfeld, Luis A. Riquelme and B. Silvano Zanutto.Instituto de Ingenieria Biomedica - Facultad de Ingenieria - Universidad de Buenos Aires,ijourda@fi.uba.ar.Thalamo-subthalamic pathway and the BasalGanglia in motor sequences selection.Abstract—Information processing by the Basal Ganglia(BG) is critical for motor, cognitive and emotional functions.We have developed an artificial neural network model of theBG based on the accepted connection between theircomponent nuclei. We have used ´integrate and fire´ neuronsas the computational units and striatal units are modeled byhebbian or antihebbian learning algorithm depending on thetiming of presynaptic action potentials. In this model theantagonistic interaction between the dopamine andacetilcholine on medium spiny neurons generates a temporalwindow where the information is processed. During the firstmilliseconds after the arrival of the cortical signal pattern,the cholinergic neurons liberate acetilcholine allowing theintegration of cortical information by reducing the mediumspiny neurons activity. The end of this time window dependson the cholinergic neurons activity modulated by dopamine.In particular we consider the thalamo-subthalamic pathwayand its importance in the relation between direct an indirectpathway and its implicance on the motor pattern selection.Key words—Basal Ganglia, motor sequences selection,computational neuroscience, Parkinson disease,Intralaminar nuclei.