Mirror Neurons Modeled Through Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity are Affected by Channelopathies Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autor(es)

Antunes, Gabriela ; Faria da Silva, Samuel F. ; Simoes de Souza, Fabio M.

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: International Journal of Neural Systems; v. 28, n. 5, p. 15-pg., 2018-06-01.

Resumo

Mirror neurons fire action potentials both when the agent performs a certain behavior and watches someone performing a similar action. Here, we present an original mirror neuron model based on the spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) between two morpho-electrical models of neocortical pyramidal neurons. Both neurons fired spontaneously with basal firing rate that follows a Poisson distribution, and the STDP between them was modeled by the triplet algorithm. Our simulation results demonstrated that STDP is sufficient for the rise of mirror neuron function between the pairs of neocortical neurons. This is a proof of concept that pairs of neocortical neurons associating sensory inputs to motor outputs could operate like mirror neurons. In addition, we used the mirror neuron model to investigate whether channelopathies associated with autism spectrum disorder could impair the modeled mirror function. Our simulation results showed that impaired hyperpolarization-activated cationic currents (Ih) affected the mirror function between the pairs of neocortical neurons coupled by STDP. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 14/08481-0 - Modelo computacional dos mecanismos pós-sinápticos da integração dopaminérgica e glutamatérgica em uma espinha dendrítica hipocampal em condições fisiológicas saudáveis e patológicas
• Beneficiário: Gabriela Antunes
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 16/18825-4 - Computando linguagem com neurônios espelho
• Beneficiário: Fábio Marques Simões de Souza
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Parceria para Inovação Tecnológica - PITE
• Processo FAPESP: 15/50122-0 - Fenômenos dinâmicos em redes complexas: fundamentos e aplicações
• Beneficiário: Elbert Einstein Nehrer Macau
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático