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Subthalamic Nucleus Cellular Models

Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience
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Definition

The subthalamic nucleus is a key basal ganglia structure providing an excitatory innervation to the globus pallidus and substantia nigra. The spontaneous activity of these neurons is sustained by an autonomous oscillation and interacts with ongoing activity in the external segment of the globus pallidus, with which it has reciprocal connections.

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Why Build a Model of the Subthalamic Neuron?

Interest in models of subthalamic nucleus (STN) neurons was triggered by a report that cocultures of the STN and globus pallidus external segment (GPe) generated sustained rhythmic bursting network activity (Plenz and Kitai 1999). Experimental models of Parkinson’s disease in primates exhibit abnormal synchronous low-frequency (7–14 Hz) oscillations in these same nuclei (Bergman et al. 1994). This simple network’s oscillations thus might contribute to the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease. The STN consists of glutamatergic neurons that excite GABAergic neurons in...

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References

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Correspondence to Charles Wilson .

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Wilson, C., Farries, M. (2014). Subthalamic Nucleus Cellular Models. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_90-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_90-3

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Basal Ganglia: Subthalamic Nucleus Cellular Models
    Published:
    09 October 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_90-4

  2. Original

    Subthalamic Nucleus Cellular Models
    Published:
    13 February 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_90-3