In silico Investigation of the Effects of Distinct Temporal Patterns of Electrical Stimulation to the Amygdala Using a Network of Izhikevich Neurons

Computational modeling is a powerful tool to investigate the mechanisms of neural function. This work model in silico the effect of experimental electrical stimulation on a neuronal network of the basolateral amygdala. Starting from the premise that different temporal patterns of stimulation affect in different ways the behavior of neural circuits involved in the genesis of epilepsy and seizures, we tested the hypothesis that non-periodic electrical stimulation (NPS) has a desynchronizing or suppressing effect on the origin of synchronization. The basolateral amygdala was modeled with three firing patterns present in Izhikevich's neurons. The obtained data were analyzed and compared with the effect of other temporal patterns of electrical stimulation. The results indicates that different temporal patterns reflect different timing for the origin of synchronization, but also suggest that the already proven mechanism of NPS, is not on a microcircuit level, but possibly on a macroscopic level of forebrain networks.