Synaptic alterations in visual cortex reshape contrast-dependent gamma oscillations and inhibition-excitation ratio in a genetic mouse model of migraine

Methods: We recorded extracellular field potentials from the primary visual cortex (V1) of head-fixed awake FHM1 knock-in (n = 12) and wild type (n = 12) mice in response to square-wave gratings with different visual contrasts. Additionally, we reproduced in silico the obtained experimental results with a novel spiking neurons network model of mouse V1, by implementing in the model both the synaptic alterations characterizing the FHM1 genetic mouse model adopted.

Background: Migraine affects a significant fraction of the world population, yet its etiology is not completely understood. In vitro results highlighted thalamocortical and intra-cortical glutamatergic synaptic gain-of-function associated with a monogenic form of migraine (familial-hemiplegic-migraine-type-1: FHM1). However, how these alterations reverberate on cortical activity remains unclear. As altered responsivity to visual stimuli and abnormal processing of visual sensory information are common hallmarks of migraine, herein we investigated the effects of FHM1-driven synaptic alterations in the visual cortex of awake mice.