A Basal Ganglia Model for understanding Working Memory Functions in Healthy and Parkinson’s Conditions

Abstract

Working memory is considered as the scratchpad to write, read, and process information to perform cognitive tasks. Basal Ganglia (BG) and Prefrontal Cortex are two important parts of the brain that are involved in working memory functions and both the structures receive projections from dopaminergic nuclei. In this modelling study, we specifically focus on modelling the working memory functions of the BG, the working memory deficits in Parkinson's disease conditions, and the impact of dopamine deficiency on different kinds of working memory functions. Though there are many experimental and modelling studies of working memory properties, there is a paucity of models of the BG that provide insights into the contributions of the BG in working memory functions. The proposed model of the BG is a unified model that can explain the working memory functions of the BG over a wide variety of tasks in normal and Parkinson's disease conditions.