Title: Modelling Spreading Cortical Depression
Speaker: Robert Miura, NJIT
Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2004, 1:00 pm
Location: Hill Center, Room 260, Rutgers University, Busch Campus, Piscataway, NJ
Abstract:
Spreading cortical depression (SD) is a slow wave phenomenon (1-15 mm/min) that has been observed during experiments in a variety of brain structures in various animals. Spreading depression has been recognized as a pathological brain phenomenon for 60 years and has been investigated with extensive experimental and theoretical studies. In spite of these, we know very little about how SD is instigated and propagated. Also, there is a possible link of SD with disease. In this talk, I will describe spreading depression and indicate several mechanisms that are believed to be important in modelling SD. These mechanisms include ion diffusion, the spatial buffer mechanism, osmotic effects, neurotransmitter substances, gap junctions, and synaptic connections. The long-term objective of these studies is to develop a realistic physiological model for spreading depression.
Seminar sponsored by DIMACS/BIOMAPS Seminar Series on Quantitative Biology and Epidemiology.