Date of Award

Fall 11-21-2025

Document Type

Masters Thesis

Degree Name

M.S. in Bioengineering

Organizational Unit

Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science

First Advisor

Yun-Bo Ti

Second Advisor

Michael Farries

Third Advisor

Scott Horowitz

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

All Rights Reserved
All Rights Reserved.

Keywords

Globus pallidus externus (GPe), Neuronal activity, Parkinson's disease, Cross-correlation patterns

Abstract

This thesis investigates the mechanisms of correlated neuronal activity in the globus pallidus externus (GPe), a key structure in the basal ganglia. Neuronal activity in the GPe is reportedly decorrelated in healthy subjects but can become highly correlated in Parkinson’s disease. However, high-density neuronal recordings in the GPe of healthy rats reveal a surprising degree of correlated activity. This raises the question of whether intrinsic properties or network connectivity alone can account for such patterns. To explore this, a computational model was developed in which GPe neurons are represented as coupled phase oscillators influenced by experimentally derived phase-response curves and extrinsic inputs. The study compared simulated cross-correlation patterns with experimental rat data, showing that while the model captures general trends, discrepancies exist in peak amplitude and decay rates, suggesting that key biological details of the GPe are not represented in the model. The findings highlight the significant impact of connection topography and synaptic dynamics on neural synchrony, emphasizing the complexity of GPe network activity and its implications for understanding both healthy brain function and pathological states like Parkinson’s disease.

Copyright Date

11-2025

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Hamza Albawaliz

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

English (eng)

Extent

100 pgs

File Size

2.3 MB

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