Hellgren Kotaleski Laboratory

The main focus of our research is to use mathematical modeling to understand the neural mechanisms underlying information processing, rhythm generation and learning in motor systems. Of specific interest are the basal ganglia, a structure in the brain that is important for the selection and initiation of motor (and cognitive) actions.

Quantitative multi-scale modeling framework for investigation of the basal ganglia

The levels of investigation using computational models range from simulations of large-scale neural networks, using both biophysically detailed and abstract systems-level models, down to kinetic models of subcellular processes (e.g. dopamine-induced cascades). The latter approach is important for understanding mechanisms involved in e.g. synaptic plasticity and learning.

Besides leading a research group at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Jeanette Hellgren Kotaleski is affiliated with the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet. A longstanding collaborative effort between the computational biology group at KTH and the Department of Neuroscience at KI has been ongoing for many years, and the goal is to understand the mechanisms for generating and coordinating activity in the spinal cord of vertebrates. Here the lamprey, an evolutionary old vertebrate, is used as a model system.

Selected publications

Segregation and crosstalk of D1 receptor-mediated activation of ERK in striatal medium spiny neurons upon acute administration of psychostimulants.
Gutierrez-Arenas O, Eriksson O, Kotaleski JH
PLoS Comput. Biol. 2014 Jan;10(1):e1003445

Signal enhancement in the output stage of the basal ganglia by synaptic short-term plasticity in the direct, indirect, and hyperdirect pathways.
Lindahl M, Kamali Sarvestani I, Ekeberg O, Kotaleski JH
Front Comput Neurosci 2013 ;7():76

Sensing Positive versus Negative Reward Signals through Adenylyl Cyclase-Coupled GPCRs in Direct and Indirect Pathway Striatal Medium Spiny Neurons.
Nair AG, Gutierrez-Arenas O, Eriksson O, Vincent P, Hellgren Kotaleski J
J. Neurosci. 2015 Oct;35(41):14017-30


Modelling the molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity using systems biology approaches.
Kotaleski JH, Blackwell KT
Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 2010 Apr;11(4):239-51

Gating of steering signals through phasic modulation of reticulospinal neurons during locomotion.
Kozlov AK, Kardamakis AA, Hellgren Kotaleski J, Grillner S
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2014 Mar;111(9):3591-6

JH
Content reviewer:
19-01-2024