scholarly journals Effects of Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus Settings on Voice Quality, Intensity, and Prosody in Parkinson’s Disease: Preliminary Evidence for Speech Optimization

Author(s):  
Anita Abeyesekera ◽  
Scott Adams ◽  
Cynthia Mancinelli ◽  
Thea Knowles ◽  
Greydon Gilmore ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT:Objective: To systematically evaluate how different deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) amplitude, frequency, and pulse-width electrical parameter settings impact speech intensity, voice quality, and prosody of speech in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: Ten individuals with PD receiving bilateral STN-DBS treatments were seen for three baseline and five treatment visits. The five treatment visits involved an examination of the standard clinical settings as well as manipulation of different combinations of frequency (low, mid, and high), pulse width (low, mid, and high), and voltage (low, mid, and high) of stimulation. Measures of speech intensity, jitter, shimmer, harmonics–noise ratio, semitone standard deviation, and listener ratings of voice quality and prosody were obtained for each STN-DBS manipulation. Results: The combinations of lower frequency, lower pulse width, and higher voltage settings were associated with improved speech outcomes compared to the current standard clinical settings. In addition, decreased total electrical energy delivered to the STN appears to be associated with speech improvements. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that STN-DBS may be optimized for Parkinson-related problems with voice quality, speech intensity, and prosody of speech.

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 510-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thea Knowles ◽  
Scott Adams ◽  
Anita Abeyesekera ◽  
Cynthia Mancinelli ◽  
Greydon Gilmore ◽  
...  

Purpose The settings of 3 electrical stimulation parameters were adjusted in 12 speakers with Parkinson's disease (PD) with deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) to examine their effects on vowel acoustics and speech intelligibility. Method Participants were tested under permutations of low, mid, and high STN-DBS frequency, voltage, and pulse width settings. At each session, participants recited a sentence. Acoustic characteristics of vowel production were extracted, and naive listeners provided estimates of speech intelligibility. Results Overall, lower-frequency STN-DBS stimulation (60 Hz) was found to lead to improvements in intelligibility and acoustic vowel expansion. An interaction between speaker sex and STN-DBS stimulation was found for vowel measures. The combination of low frequency, mid to high voltage, and low to mid pulse width led to optimal speech outcomes; however, these settings did not demonstrate significant speech outcome differences compared with the standard clinical STN-DBS settings, likely due to substantial individual variability. Conclusions Although lower-frequency STN-DBS stimulation was found to yield consistent improvements in speech outcomes, it was not found to necessarily lead to the best speech outcomes for all participants. Nevertheless, frequency may serve as a starting point to explore settings that will optimize an individual's speech outcomes following STN-DBS surgery. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5899228


CNS Spectrums ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Hindle Fisher ◽  
Hardev S. Pall ◽  
Rosalind D. Mitchell ◽  
Jamilla Kausar ◽  
Andrea E. Cavanna

ObjectiveApathy has been reported as a possible adverse effect of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS). We investigated the prevalence and severity of apathy in 22 patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who underwent STN-DBS, as well as the effects of apathy on quality of life (QOL).MethodsAll patients were assessed with the Lille Apathy Rating Scale (LARS), the Apathy Scale (AS), and the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire and were compared to a control group of 38 patients on pharmacotherapy alone.ResultsThere were no significant differences in the prevalence or severity of apathy between patients who had undergone STN-DBS and those on pharmacotherapy alone. Significant correlations were observed between poorer QOL and degree of apathy, as measured by the LARS (p<0.001) and the AS (p=0.021). PD-related disability also correlated with both apathy ratings (p<0.001 and p=0.017, respectively).ConclusionOur findings suggest that STN-DBS is not necessarily associated with apathy in the PD population; however, more severe apathy appears to be associated with a higher level of disability due to PD and worse QOL, but no other clinico-demographic characteristics.


2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 1811-1820 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Lehmkuhle ◽  
S. S. Bhangoo ◽  
D. R. Kipke

Electrocorticogram (ECoG) recordings of the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)–lesioned parkinsonian rat have shown an increase in the power of cortical β-band (15–30 Hz) oscillations ipsilateral to the lesion. The power of these oscillations is decreased with dopamine agonist administration. Here, we demonstrate that stimulation of an electrode implanted in the subthalamic nucleus alters the power of cortical β and γ oscillations in 6-OHDA–lesioned animals. These alterations are dependent on stimulation frequency, charge, and amplitude/pulse width. Oscillations were significantly reduced during 200- and 350-Hz stimulation. A minimum charge of 4 nC was required to elicit a reduction in oscillation power. A number of amplitude and pulse width combinations that reached 4 nC were tested; it was found that only the combinations of 33 μA/120 μs and 65 μA/60 μs significantly reduced cortical oscillations. The reduction in β/γ oscillation power due to deep brain stimulation (DBS) was consistent with a significant reduction in the animals' rotational behavior, a typical symptom of parkinsonism in the rat. A significant shift from high β to low γ was observed in the peak frequencies of ECoG recordings while animals were at rest versus walking on a treadmill. However, DBS exhibited no differential effect on oscillations between these two states. EEG recordings from rodent models of DBS may provide surrogate information about the neural signatures of Parkinson's disease relative to the efficacy of DBS.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Xie ◽  
Xiangyu Meng ◽  
Jinsong Xiao ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Junjian Zhang

Background. Nowadays, it has been largely acknowledged that deep brain stimulation of subthalamic nucleus (STN DBS) can alleviate motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, but its effects on cognitive function remain unclear, which are not given enough attention by many clinical doctors and researchers. To date, 3 existing meta-analyses focusing on this issue included self-control studies and have not drawn consistent conclusions. The present study is the first to compare effect sizes of primary studies that include control groups, hoping to reveal the net cognitive outcomes after STN DBS and the clinical significance. Methods. A structured literature search was conducted using strict criteria. Only studies with control group could be included. Data on age, duration of disease, levodopa equivalent dosage (LED), and multiple cognitive scales were collected and pooled. Results. Of 172 articles identified, 10 studies (including 3 randomized controlled trials and 7 nonrandomized controlled studies) were eligible for inclusion. The results suggest that STN DBS results in decreased global cognition, memory, verbal fluency, and executive function compared with control group. No significant difference is found in other cognitive domains. Conclusions. STN DBS seems relatively safe with respect to cognitive function, and further studies should focus on the exact mechanisms of possible verbal deterioration after surgery in the future.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofie Lundgren ◽  
Thomas Saeys ◽  
Fredrik Karlsson ◽  
Katarina Olofsson ◽  
Patric Blomstedt ◽  
...  

Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) affects speech inconsistently. Recently, stimulation of the caudal zona incerta (cZi-DBS) has shown superior motor outcomes for PD patients, but effects on speech have not been systematically investigated. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of cZi-DBS and STN-DBS on voice intensity in PD patients. Mean intensity during reading and intensity decay during rapid syllable repetition were measured for STN-DBS and cZi-DBS patients (eight patients per group), before- and 12 months after-surgery on- and off-stimulation. For mean intensity, there were small significant differences on- versus off-stimulation in each group: 74.2 (2.0) dB contra 72.1 (2.2) dB () for STN-DBS, and 71.6 (4.1) dB contra 72.8 (3.4) dB () for cZi-DBS, with significant interaction (). Intensity decay showed no significant changes. The subtle differences found for mean intensity suggest that STN-DBS and cZi-DBS may influence voice intensity differently.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Wang ◽  
Yongsheng Li ◽  
Xiaona Zhang ◽  
Anmu Xie

Bilateral deep brain stimulation of subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) has proven effective in improving motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. However, psychiatric changes after surgery are controversial. In this study, we specifically analyzed apathy following bilateral STN-DBS in PD patients using a meta-analysis. Relevant articles utilized for this study were obtained through literature search on PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Embase databases. The articles included were those contained both pre- and postsurgery apathy data acquired using the Starkstein Apathy Scale or Apathy Evaluation Scale with patient follow-up of at least three months. A total of 9 out of 86 articles were included in our study through this strict screening process. Standardized mean difference (SMD), that is, Cohen’s d, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to show the change. We found a significant difference between the presurgery stage and the postsurgery stage scores (SMD = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.17∼0.52, P<0.001). STN-DBS seems to relatively worsen the condition of apathy, which may result from both the surgery target (subthalamic nucleus) and the reduction of dopaminergic medication. Further studies should focus on the exact mechanisms of possible postoperative apathy in the future.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvan M. Vachez ◽  
Meaghan C. Creed

Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) is an effective treatment for the motor symptoms of movement disorders including Parkinson's Disease (PD). Despite its therapeutic benefits, STN-DBS has been associated with adverse effects on mood and cognition. Specifically, apathy, which is defined as a loss of motivation, has been reported to emerge or to worsen following STN-DBS. However, it is often challenging to disentangle the effects of STN-DBS per se from concurrent reduction of dopamine replacement therapy, from underlying PD pathology or from disease progression. To this end, pre-clinical models allow for the dissociation of each of these factors, and to establish neural substrates underlying the emergence of motivational symptoms following STN-DBS. Here, we performed a systematic analysis of rodent studies assessing the effects of STN-DBS on reward seeking, reward motivation and reward consumption across a variety of behavioral paradigms. We find that STN-DBS decreases reward seeking in the majority of experiments, and we outline how design of the behavioral task and DBS parameters can influence experimental outcomes. While an early hypothesis posited that DBS acts as a “functional lesion,” an analysis of lesions and inhibition of the STN revealed no consistent pattern on reward-related behavior. Thus, we discuss alternative mechanisms that could contribute to the amotivational effects of STN-DBS. We also argue that optogenetic-assisted circuit dissection could yield important insight into the effects of the STN on motivated behavior in health and disease. Understanding the mechanisms underlying the effects of STN-DBS on motivated behavior-will be critical for optimizing the clinical application of STN-DBS.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document