“School of Biological Sciences”
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| Paper IPM / Biological Sciences / 17642 |
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| Abstract: | |||||
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The reciprocal interaction between inhibitory neurons of the globus
pallidus externus (GPe) and excitatory neurons of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) forms an
intrinsic pacemaker in the basal ganglia (BG). Experimental evidence suggests that exaggerated
neural oscillations in the beta frequency (13-30 Hz) may be linked to the motor symptoms of
Parkinson's disease (PD) and the GPe-STN network may play a central role in this process.
Pathological strengthening of the inhibitory pallido-subthalamic synapses in the PD condition
further exacerbates this abnormal activity which is caused by the triggering of plasticity
mechanisms due to an imbalance between cortico-subthalamic and pallido-subthalamic inputs.
Electrical deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the GPe or STN is a standard therapy for medically
refractory PD, but its effectiveness may crucially depend on the spatio-temporal pattern of
stimulation.
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