Subthalamic nucleus electrical stimulation modulates calcium activity of nigral astrocytes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) is a major output nucleus of the basal ganglia, delivering inhibitory efferents to the relay nuclei of the thalamus. Pathological hyperactivity of SNr neurons is known to be responsible for some motor disorders e.g. in Parkinson's disease. One way to restore this pathological activity is to electrically stimulate one of the SNr input, the excitatory subthalamic nucleus (STN), which has emerged as an effective treatment for parkinsonian patients. The neuronal network and signal processing of the basal ganglia are well known but, paradoxically, the role of astrocytes in the regulation of SNr activity has never been studied.

Principal findings

In this work, we developed a rat brain slice model to study the influence of spont

SUBMITTER: Barat E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3407058 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature