Abstract
Brain lesions and structural abnormalities may lead to the development of epilepsy. However, it is not well known which specific alterations in cortical circuitry are necessary to create an epileptogenic region. In the present work we use computer simulations to test the hypothesis that the loss of chandelier cells, which are powerful inhibitory interneurons, might be a key element in the development of seizures in epileptic patients. We used circuit diagrams based on real data to model a 0.5 mm3 region of human neocortical tissue. We found that a slight decrease in the number of chandelier cells may cause epileptiform activity in the network. However, when this decrease affects other cell types, the global behaviour of the model is not qualitatively altered. Thus, our work supports the hypothesis that chandelier cells are fundamental in the development of epilepsy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Colbert, C.: Personal communication.
DeFelipe, J.: Chandelier cells and epilepsy. Brain 122 (1999) 1807–1822
DeFelipe, J., Sola, R.G., Marco, P., del Río, M.R., Pulido, P., Ramón y Cajal, S.: Selective changes in the microorganization of the human epileptogenic neocortex revealed by parvalbumin immunoreactivity. Cerebral Cortex 3 (1993) 39–48
DeFelipe, J.: Microcircuits in the brain. In Mira, J., Moreno-Díaz, R., Cabestany, L., eds. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 1240 (Springer, Berlin, 1997) 1–14
del Río, M.R., DeFelipe, J.: Colocalization of calbindin D-28k, calretinin and GABA immunoreactivities in neurons of the human temporal cortex. J. Comp. Neurol. 364 (1996) 472–482
Douglas, R.J., Martin, K.A.: Control of neural output by inhibition at the axon initial segment. Neural Comp. 2 (1990) 283–92
Koch, C., Segev, I.: Methods in neuronal modeling, from ions to networks. (MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1998).
Marco, P., Sola, R.G., Pulido, P., Alijarde, M.T., Sánchez, A., Ramón y Cajal, S., DeFelipe, J.: Inhibitory neurons in the human epileptogenic temporal neocortex: an immunocytochemical study. Brain 119 (1996) 1327–1347
Marco P., DeFelipe, J.: Altered synaptic circuitry in the human temporal epileptogenic neocortex. Exp. Brain Res. 114 (1997) 1–10
Meldrum, B.S., Bruton, C.J.: Epilepsy. In Adams, J.H., Duchen, L.W., eds. Greenfield’s Neuropathology (Arnold, London, 1992) 1246–1283
Sánchez-Montañés M.A., Lago-Fernández L.F., Castellanos N.P., Merchán-Pérez A., Arellano J., DeFelipe J.: A Model of Human Cortical Microcircuits for the Study of the Development of Epilepsy. Internal Report, (2002), ETS de Informática, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. Available at http://www.ii.uam.es/~msanchez/papers.html
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Sánchez-Montañés, M., Lago-Fernández, L.F., Castellanos, N.P., Merchán-Pérez, Á., Arellano, J.I., DeFelipe, J. (2002). A Model of Human Cortical Microcircuits for the Study of the Development of Epilepsy. In: Dorronsoro, J.R. (eds) Artificial Neural Networks — ICANN 2002. ICANN 2002. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 2415. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-46084-5_41
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-46084-5_41
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-44074-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-46084-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive