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Causal Role of Thalamic Interneurons in Brain State Transitions: A Study Using a Neural Mass Model Implementing

Basabdatta Sen Bhattacharya¹, Thomas P Bond¹, Louise O'Hare²

¹School of Engineering, University of Lincoln Lincoln, UK.

Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience

|December 1, 2016

Summary

Inhibitory interneurons (IN) in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) are crucial for regulating brain rhythms and information flow. Their removal causes significant disruptions in thalamocortical dynamics and visual processing.

Keywords:

Lateral Geniculate Nucleus alpha rhythms kinetic modeling neural mass models neural oscillations neurotransmitter concentration synaptic kinetics thalamic interneurons

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Area of Science:

Computational neuroscience
Neurophysiology
Systems neuroscience

Background:

Inhibitory interneurons (IN) comprise 20-25% of the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGN) cell population.
INs receive substantial input from retinal spiking neurons, but their precise role in LGN dynamics remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the causal role of INs in LGN oscillations and state transitions using a computational model.
To link cellular attributes to population dynamics in the LGN.

Main Methods:

Developed a neural mass computational model of the LGN with three populations: IN, thalamocortical relay (TCR), and thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN).
Implemented synaptic information transmission using kinetic modeling.
Parameterized the model to simulate alpha (8-13 Hz) rhythms observed in LGN LFP and visual cortex EEG.

Main Results:

Disabling INs led to high-amplitude alpha band oscillations in TCR and TRN, suggesting INs suppress TRN responses and modulate cognitive states.
The model replicated human visually evoked potentials, but IN removal disrupted frequency tracking of input stimuli, confirming INs' role in efficient retino-geniculate transmission.
IN removal caused abrupt transitions between brain rhythms (alpha-theta), whereas INs facilitated smooth transitions, indicating their role in maintaining LGN homeostasis.

Conclusions:

INs are critical inhibitory modulators of LGN dynamics, influencing cognitive states and information processing.
INs are essential for stable and efficient visual information transmission within the retino-geniculate pathway.
INs play a vital role in maintaining LGN homeostasis by preventing instabilities arising from synaptic variations.