Effects of NMDA Receptor Hypofunction on Inhibitory Control in a Two-Layer Neural Circuit Model

Inhibitory control plays an important role in controlling behaviors, and its impairment is a characteristic feature of schizophrenia. Such inhibitory control has been examined through the the stop-signal task, wherein participants are asked to suppress a planned movement when a stop signal appears....

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Main Authors: Weijie Ye, Xiaoying Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-09-01
Series:Mathematics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/19/4063
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author Weijie Ye
Xiaoying Chen
author_facet Weijie Ye
Xiaoying Chen
author_sort Weijie Ye
collection DOAJ
description Inhibitory control plays an important role in controlling behaviors, and its impairment is a characteristic feature of schizophrenia. Such inhibitory control has been examined through the the stop-signal task, wherein participants are asked to suppress a planned movement when a stop signal appears. In this research, we constructed a two-layer spiking neural circuit model to study how N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) hypofunction, a potential pathological mechanism in schizophrenia, impacts the inhibitory control ability in the stop-signal task. To find the possible NMDAR hypofunction effects in schizophrenia, all NMDA-mediated synapses in the model were set to be NMDAR hypofunction at different levels. Our findings revealed that the performances of the stop-signal task were close to the experimental results in schizophrenia when NMDAR hypofunction was present in the neurons of two populations that controlled the “go” process and the “stop” process of the stop-signal task, implying that the execution and inhibition of behaviors were both impaired in schizophrenia. Under a certain degree of NMDAR hypofunction, the circuit model is able to replicate the stop-signal task performances observed in individuals with schizophrenia. In addition, we have observed a predictable outcome indicating that NMDAR hypofunction can lower the saccadic threshold in the stop-signal task. These results provide a mechanical explanation for the impairment of inhibitory control in schizophrenia.
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spelling doaj.art-7f6d09634d5e476083e9086cda0551512023-11-19T14:42:51ZengMDPI AGMathematics2227-73902023-09-011119406310.3390/math11194063Effects of NMDA Receptor Hypofunction on Inhibitory Control in a Two-Layer Neural Circuit ModelWeijie Ye0Xiaoying Chen1School of Statistics and Mathematics, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, Guangzhou 510320, ChinaSchool of Statistics and Mathematics, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, Guangzhou 510320, ChinaInhibitory control plays an important role in controlling behaviors, and its impairment is a characteristic feature of schizophrenia. Such inhibitory control has been examined through the the stop-signal task, wherein participants are asked to suppress a planned movement when a stop signal appears. In this research, we constructed a two-layer spiking neural circuit model to study how N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) hypofunction, a potential pathological mechanism in schizophrenia, impacts the inhibitory control ability in the stop-signal task. To find the possible NMDAR hypofunction effects in schizophrenia, all NMDA-mediated synapses in the model were set to be NMDAR hypofunction at different levels. Our findings revealed that the performances of the stop-signal task were close to the experimental results in schizophrenia when NMDAR hypofunction was present in the neurons of two populations that controlled the “go” process and the “stop” process of the stop-signal task, implying that the execution and inhibition of behaviors were both impaired in schizophrenia. Under a certain degree of NMDAR hypofunction, the circuit model is able to replicate the stop-signal task performances observed in individuals with schizophrenia. In addition, we have observed a predictable outcome indicating that NMDAR hypofunction can lower the saccadic threshold in the stop-signal task. These results provide a mechanical explanation for the impairment of inhibitory control in schizophrenia.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/19/4063NMDA receptor hypofunctioninhibitory controlschizophreniastop-signal taskneural circuit model
spellingShingle Weijie Ye
Xiaoying Chen
Effects of NMDA Receptor Hypofunction on Inhibitory Control in a Two-Layer Neural Circuit Model
Mathematics
NMDA receptor hypofunction
inhibitory control
schizophrenia
stop-signal task
neural circuit model
title Effects of NMDA Receptor Hypofunction on Inhibitory Control in a Two-Layer Neural Circuit Model
title_full Effects of NMDA Receptor Hypofunction on Inhibitory Control in a Two-Layer Neural Circuit Model
title_fullStr Effects of NMDA Receptor Hypofunction on Inhibitory Control in a Two-Layer Neural Circuit Model
title_full_unstemmed Effects of NMDA Receptor Hypofunction on Inhibitory Control in a Two-Layer Neural Circuit Model
title_short Effects of NMDA Receptor Hypofunction on Inhibitory Control in a Two-Layer Neural Circuit Model
title_sort effects of nmda receptor hypofunction on inhibitory control in a two layer neural circuit model
topic NMDA receptor hypofunction
inhibitory control
schizophrenia
stop-signal task
neural circuit model
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/11/19/4063
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