Francis, Febe (2012) Pacemaking Neurons in the study of Parkinson’s Disease. PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.
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Abstract
Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder
with a signiVcant social cost. The disease that develops over years results in
signiVcant movement related problems for the aUected. The pathogenesis however
is partially understood.
Computational approaches are signiVcant in the analysis of events that are
multi-factorial. Parkinson’s Disease results from a system failure that leads to
severe degeneration in the substantia nigra , a locus in the mid-brain. Traditional
approaches tend to focus on isolated sub-components of the pathogenic
pathways. However, such an approach may be inadequate to describe the
pathogenesis.
Substantia nigra neurons function on an expensive energy budget, due to a high
level of arborisation and pacemaking activity. Spontaneous oscillations of these
neurons are an important feature of motor control. Pacemaking involves the
L-type calcium channel, and could impose long-term accumulation of calcium
within its organelles. Modelling of this activity is an important part of developing
an understanding of the pathogenic process. We develop a mathematical
paradigm to describe this activity with a single compartment approach.
To develop the mathematical framework we initially identify the components
that contribute to the process and investigate an appropriate mathematical
representation for the respective components. In the next part, we bring together
such representation to develop a model that can reproduce measured
data. Global optimisation strategies are adopted to tune important parameters.
The model explicitly describes the dynamics of the transmembrane potential
with changes in the levels of important cations. The model is veriVed for two
major observations in literature regarding its response in the presence of channel
blockers. The model is analysed for parameter bifurcation and stability of
oscillations. Finally a framework is proposed to extend the model to include
aspects of calcium homeostasis.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) |
---|---|
Keywords: | Pacemaking Neurons; Parkinson’s Disease; |
Academic Unit: | Faculty of Science and Engineering > Research Institutes > Hamilton Institute |
Item ID: | 4328 |
Depositing User: | IR eTheses |
Date Deposited: | 19 Apr 2013 13:53 |
URI: | https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/4328 |
Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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