Synaptic determinants of cholinergic interneurons hyperactivity during parkinsonism.

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative ailment generated by the loss of dopamine in the basal ganglia, mainly in the striatum. The disease courses with increased striatal levels of acetylcholine, disrupting the balance among these modulatory transmitters. These modifications disturb the excitatory and inhibitory balance in the striatal circuitry, as reflected in the activity of projection striatal neurons.

Translational neuronal ensembles: Neuronal microcircuits in psychology, physiology, pharmacology and pathology.

Multi-recording techniques show evidence that neurons coordinate their firing forming ensembles and that brain networks are made by connections between ensembles. While "canonical" microcircuits are composed of interconnected principal neurons and interneurons, it is not clear how they participate in recorded neuronal ensembles: "groups of neurons that show spatiotemporal co-activation". Understanding synapses and their plasticity has become complex, making hard to consider all details to fill the gap between cellular-synaptic and circuit levels.