A computational approach to evaluate how molecular mechanisms impact large-scale brain activity

Assessing the impact of pharmaceutical compounds on brain activity is a critical issue in contemporary neuroscience. Currently, no systematic approach exists for evaluating these effects in whole-brain models, which typically focus on macroscopic phenomena, while pharmaceutical interventions operate at the molecular scale. Here we address this issue by presenting a computational approach for brain simulations using biophysically grounded mean-field models that integrate membrane conductances and synaptic receptors, showcased in the example of anesthesia. We show that anesthetics targeting GABA_A and NMDA receptors can switch brain activity to generalized slow-wave patterns, as observed experimentally in deep anesthesia. To validate our models, we demonstrate that these slow-wave states exhibit reduced responsiveness to external stimuli and functional connectivity constrained by anatomical connectivity, mirroring experimental findings in anesthetized states across species. Our approach, founded on mean-field models that incorporate molecular realism, provides a robust framework for understanding how molecular-level drug actions impact whole-brain dynamics.