Chaotic Behavior of the Basal Ganglia Cortical Thalamic Model for Absence Seizures: A Comprehensive Dynamical Analysis

Children frequently experience absence seizures, a form of seizure that is characterized by brief periods of unconsciousness and staring spells. While many studies have been conducted on absence seizures, there is still some uncertainty regarding the precise mechanisms causing absence seizures. The basal ganglia are believed to be essential in regulating thalamocortical network activity responsible for such seizures. Controlling or designing a treatment for this disorder requires an understanding of the contribution of the basal ganglia regions in the absence seizures. In this regard, efforts have been made to propose a mathematical model of brain neuronal substructures and their connections in the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia cortex-thalamus (BGCT) model is one of the most-studied mathematical models investigating absence seizures. However, this model has not been comprehensively studied from the viewpoint of dynamical behavior. Hence, to evaluate the BGCT model, this paper is devoted to studying a detailed and in-depth bifurcation analysis of the basal ganglia regions in the BGCT loop. Moreover, the 0–1 test for chaos is performed to confirm the results shown in the bifurcation diagrams. Our results suggest that the BGCT model can exhibit chaotic behavior in small regions of the coupling parameter, which is consistent with the complex nature of the brain neuronal network.