modeling of transcranial stimulation and induced plasticity to elucidate mechanism of dystonia

Dystonia is a common neurological movement disorder, characterized clinically by abnormal postures of the affected body part. A large number of studies into the pathophysiology of dystonia showed a widespread reduction in the excitability of inhibitory circuits at the motor system and an increase in the responsiveness of motor cortex to brain stimulation that targets synaptic plasticity. However, the underlying mechanism of dystonia has been obscure so far. Most of the pathophysiology of dystonia was revealed using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). To clarify how TMS works in the brain may help in understanding dystonia. Nevertheless, there are limitations in clarifying the mechanism of TMS after two decades study. With the help of theories in physics and computer science, neural circuits in everal nervous systems have been successfully modeled. In this project, we plan to build a biologically-realistic neural circuit model of motor system to explore the effects of TMS, including neuroplasticity that repetitive TMS induces. We will then incorporate observations of TMS studies in dystonia into the model to elucidate the underlying mechanism of dystonia. To our knowledge, this will be the first neural circuit model that is developed specifically for dystonia. We believe this will give us more integrated information of the pathophysiology of dystonia. Moreover, this project may also provide a dystonia model to develop effective management of dystonia.

Project ID:PG10201-0114
External Project ID:NHRI-EX102-9913EC