A model of spindle rhythmicity in the isolated thalamic reticular nucleus

1. The oscillatory properties of the isolated reticular (RE) thalamus were modeled with the use of compartmental models of RE cells. Hodgkin-Huxley type kinetic models of ionic channels were derived from voltage- and current-clamp data from RE cells. Interactions between interconnected RE cells were simulated with the use of a kinetic model of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) inhibitory synapses. 2. The intrinsic bursting properties of RE cells in the model were due to the presence of a low-threshold Ca2+ current and two Ca(2+)-activated currents. The properties of these model RE cells were compared with RE neurons recorded intracellularly in vivo in cats. 3. Model RE cells densely interconnected with GABAA synapses produced synchronous oscillations at a frequency close to that of spindles (7-14 Hz). Networks of RE neurons organized in a two-dimensional array with only proximal connectivity also exhibited synchronized oscillations in the spindle range. In addition, the proximally connected network showed periods of high and low synchronicity, giving rise to waxing and waning oscillations in the population of RE cells. 4. The spatiotemporal behavior of the network was investigated during waxing and waning oscillations. The waxing and waning emerged as an alternation between periods of desynchronized and synchronized activity, corresponding to periods of irregular and coherent spatial activity. During synchronized periods, the network displayed propagating coherent waves of synchronous activity that had a tendency to form spirals. 5. Networks of model RE neurons fully connected through GABAB synapses exhibited perfectly synchronous oscillations at lower frequencies (0.5-1 Hz), but two-dimensional networks with proximal GABAB connectivity failed to synchronize. 6. These simulations demonstrate that networks of model neurons that include the main intrinsic currents found in RE cells can generate waxing and waning oscillatory activity similar to the spindle rhythmicity observed in the isolated RE nucleus in vivo. The model reveals the interplay between the intrinsic rhythmic properties of RE cells and the fast synaptic interactions in organizing synchronized rhythmicity.