" ...The aim of this study was to use an established thalamocortical computer model to determine how T-type calcium channels work in concert with cortical excitability to contribute to pathogenesis and treatment response in CAE. METHODS: The model is comprised of cortical pyramidal, cortical inhibitory, thalamocortical relay, and thalamic reticular single-compartment neurons, implemented with Hodgkin-Huxley model ion channels and connected by AMPA, GABAA , and GABAB synapses. Network behavior was simulated for different combinations of T-type calcium channel conductance, inactivation time, steady state activation/inactivation shift, and cortical GABAA conductance. RESULTS: Decreasing cortical GABAA conductance and increasing T-type calcium channel conductance converted spindle to spike and wave oscillations; smaller changes were required if both were changed in concert. In contrast, left shift of steady state voltage activation/inactivation did not lead to spike and wave oscillations, whereas right shift reduced network propensity for oscillations of any type...."
Model Type: Realistic Network
Region(s) or Organism(s): Neocortex; Thalamus
Cell Type(s): Thalamus reticular nucleus GABA cell; Thalamus geniculate nucleus/lateral principal GLU cell; Hodgkin-Huxley neuron; Neocortex layer 4 pyramidal cell; Neocortex fast spiking (FS) interneuron
Currents: I h; I Na,t; I K,leak; I T low threshold; I M
Model Concept(s): Spindles; Oscillations
Simulation Environment: NEURON
Implementer(s): Knox, Andrew [knox at neurology.wisc.edu]; Destexhe, Alain [Destexhe at iaf.cnrs-gif.fr]
References:
Knox AT, Glauser T, Tenney J, Lytton WW, Holland K. (2018). Modeling pathogenesis and treatment response in childhood absence epilepsy. Epilepsia. 59 [PubMed]