A Quantitative Model of Cortical Spreading Depression Due to Purinergic and Gap-Junction Transmission in Astrocyte Networks

Spreading depression (SD), a propagating wave of electrical silence in the cortex and archicortex, involves depolarization of neurons and astrocytes for ∼1 min, due principally to a large increase in extracellular K+. SD is accompanied by large increases in extracellular ATP and is blocked by glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists. As a principal means of transmission between astrocytes is through their release of ATP, we have investigated if a model in which SD is driven by the effects of astrocyte waves of ATP interacting with waves of glutamate release from neurons and astrocytes can give a quantitative account of experimental observations on SD. We show that the characteristics of SD and the accompanying extracellular ionic changes can be accommodated by such a model—whether astrocyte transmission is principally through the release of ATP, as in archicortex (hippocampus) and spinal cord, or via gap junctions, as in the neocortex. Furthermore, these models give quantitative accounts of the effects on the characteristics of SD of agents toxic for astrocytes and of gap-junction blockers. Finally, an additional series of critical tests of the model is suggested.