NONLINEAR PHENOMENA IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS
An Interdisciplinary Journal

2006, Vol.9, No.3, pp.298-312


Long-term Anti-Kindling Effects Induced by Short-Term, Weak Desynchronizing Stimulation.
Peter A. Tass and Christian Hauptmann

In a computational study we show that robust long-term changes of synaptic connectivity can be achieved even by short-term weak desynchronizing stimuli. For this, we consider a mathematical model for a population of bursting neurons subject to synaptic plasticity with symmetric spike timing characteristics. In our neuronal population, which models a standard target for deep brain stimulation, synchronized states (modelling disease states) as well as a desynchronized state (modelling a healthy state) are stable. Intriguingly, even short-term, weak desynchronizing stimuli, i.e.~desynchronizing stimuli which are not able to cause a desynchronization during stimulation, may induce a robust unlearning of the mean synaptic weight, a so-called anti-kindling. Therapeutically rewiring stimuli of that kind shift the population into the basin of attraction of the stable desynchronized state. Accordingly, after stimulus offset the population spontaneously relaxes into the desired desynchronized state, where it remains if left unperturbed. At stimulus offset, we observe a transient rebound of synchrony. Our results might contribute to a novel therapeutic stimulation strategy for the therapy of neurological and psychiatric diseases characterized by abnormal synchrony.
Key words: desynchronization, multistability, control, brain stimulation, synaptic plasticity, therapeutic rewiring

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