Analysis of transmission and regulation of Alzheimer’s disease in cortex coupled system

Abnormal activity of the excitatory glutamatergic system is a common phenomenon in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This hyperactivity leads to an imbalance between excitation and inhibition mechanisms, which is considered to be a key factor in the occurrence of neuronal degeneration and cognitive impairment. Based on the classical Wendling model, we successfully reproduced the typical electroencephalogram (EEG) characteristics of clinical AD patients, including the slowing of α rhythm and the enhancement of δ+θ rhythm activity. With the deterioration of AD, its pathological changes will diffuse to the entire cortex gradually, which is closely related to the gradual decline of cognitive ability. So, we developed a two-compartment Wendling model to further explore the interaction between health and AD pathological states. As the intensity of excitatory postsynaptic membrane potential and inter-population coupling strength increase, the propagation of pathological rhythms in AD becomes easier. Interestingly, under the same coupling strength, the healthy physiological state is more susceptible to the pathological state of AD. In addition, we tested the unique advantage of fast inhibitory interneurons in transmitting rhythms, which is consistent with the results of previous theoretical studies. In order to effectively control the pathological spread of AD, we explored two control strategies of open-loop and closed-loop deep brain stimulation (DBS). The closed-loop control could not only normalize the abnormal EEG signal, but also significantly reduce the energy consumption compared with open-loop DBS. This study aims to provide new insights into the propagation and regulation mechanism of AD, and hopefully provide new diagnosis and treatment ideas for the clinical treatment of related neurological diseases.