Thalamic model of awake alpha oscillations and implications for stimulus processing

We describe a unique conductance-based model of awake thalamic alpha and some of its implications for function. The full model includes a model for a specialized class of high-threshold thalamocortical cells (HTC cells), which burst at the alpha frequency at depolarized membrane potentials (~-56 mV). Our model generates alpha activity when the actions of either muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) or metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) agonists on thalamic reticular (RE), thalamocortical (TC), and HTC cells are mimicked. In our model of mGluR1-induced alpha, TC cells are equally likely to fire during any phase of alpha, consistent with in vitro experiments. By contrast, in our model of mAChR-induced alpha, TC cells tend to fire either at the peak or the trough of alpha, depending on conditions. Our modeling suggests that low levels of mGluR1 activation on a background of mAChR agonists may be able to initiate alpha activity that biases TC cells to fire at certain phases of alpha, offering a pathway for cortical control. If we introduce a strong stimulus by increasing the frequency of excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) to TC cells, an increase in alpha power is needed to mimic the level of phasing of TC cells observed in vivo. This increased alpha power reduces the probability that TC cells spike near the trough of alpha. We suggest that mAChR-induced alpha may contribute to grouping TC activity into discrete perceptual units for processing, whereas mGluR1-induced alpha may serve the purpose of blocking unwanted stimuli from reaching the cortex.