Neuronal Network Modelling of the Somatosensory Pathway and its Application to General Anaesthesia

Abstract

The sensory responses evoked from the cortex by stimulating peripheral sensory nerves act as a sensitive index of anaesthetic effect. The whole question of consciousness, awareness and depth of anaesthesia is both timely, little understood, and deeply challenging. Models of the underlying neural pathway mechanisms/dynamics are necessary for understanding the interaction involved and their structure and function. A neuronal network of the somatosensory pathway is proposed in this paper based on experimental information and physiological investigation in anaesthesia. Existing mathematical neuronal models from the literature were modified and employed to describe the dynamics of the proposed pathway network. Effects of anaesthetic agents on the cortex were simulated on the model from which evoked cortical responses were obtained. By comparison with responses from anaesthetised rats, the model’s responses are able to describe the dynamics of realistic responses. Thus, the proposed model promises to be valuable for investigating the mechanisms of anaesthesia on the cortex and brain lesions.