scholarly journals Impact of deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus on natural language in patients with Parkinson’s disease

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0244148
Author(s):  
Felicitas Ehlen ◽  
Bassam Al-Fatly ◽  
Andrea A. Kühn ◽  
Fabian Klostermann

Background In addition to the typical motor symptoms, a majority of patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease experience language impairments. Deep Brain Stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus robustly reduces motor dysfunction, but its impact on language skills remains ambiguous. Method To elucidate the impact of subthalamic deep brain stimulation on natural language production, we systematically analyzed language samples from fourteen individuals (three female / eleven male, average age 66.43 ± 7.53 years) with Parkinson’s disease in the active (ON) versus inactive (OFF) stimulation condition. Significant ON-OFF differences were considered as stimulation effects. To localize their neuroanatomical origin within the subthalamic nucleus, they were correlated with the volume of tissue activated by therapeutic stimulation. Results Word and clause production speed increased significantly under active stimulation. These enhancements correlated with the volume of tissue activated within the associative part of the subthalamic nucleus, but not with that within the dorsolateral motor part, which again correlated with motor improvement. Language error rates were lower in the ON vs. OFF condition, but did not correlate with electrode localization. No significant changes in further semantic or syntactic language features were detected in the current study. Conclusion The findings point towards a facilitation of executive language functions occurring rather independently from motor improvement. Given the presumed origin of this stimulation effect within the associative part of the subthalamic nucleus, this could be due to co-stimulation of the prefrontal-subthalamic circuit.

Neurosurgery ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Guridi ◽  
Jose A. Obeso ◽  
Maria C. Rodriguez-Oroz ◽  
Andres M. Lozano ◽  
Miguel Manrique

Abstract OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of different surgical targets and techniques, such as ablation and deep brain stimulation, to treat patients with L-dopa-induced dyskinesia (LID), a major therapeutic complication of Parkinson's disease. METHODS This review analyzes the effects of early surgical procedures to treat hyperkinesia and the current methods and targets used to combat LID in Parkinson's disease, which are mainly thalamotomy, pallidotomy, and deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus internus and the subthalamic nucleus. RESULTS Available information indicates that surgery of the globus pallidus internus and thalamus (the pallidal receiving area) and of the subthalamic nucleus has a pronounced antidyskinetic effect. This effect is associated with a concomitant improvement in the parkinsonian (“off”-medication) state. Although it is more profound with pallidal and subthalamic surgery, such an effect can also be observed to some extent with thalamic surgery. The latter is attributable to the fact that surgery of the ventralis intermedius is primarily effective for treating tremor. An integral pallidothalamic pathway is needed for dyskinesia to be expressed. Thus, LID is less frequent after subthalamotomy or deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus through a functional effect mediated by the physiological normalization of the motor system and by an indirect effect associated with a reduction in the daily dose of L-dopa. CONCLUSION Surgery is the only treatment available for Parkinson's disease that can predictably improve both the parkinsonian motor syndrome and LID. The exact mechanisms involved in these effects are not well understood. Pallidal and thalamic surgery affecting pallidal relays reduce LID frequency by disrupting the pallidothalamic circuit, probably eliminating the neuronal activity associated with dyskinesia. Alternatively, the antidyskinetic effect of subthalamic nucleus surgery may in part be attributable to a reduction in the L-dopa dose as well as to the stabilization of the basal ganglia circuits after the surgical procedure.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rens Verhagen ◽  
Lo Bour ◽  
Vincent Odekerken ◽  
Pepijn van den Munckhof ◽  
P. Schuurman ◽  
...  

Motor improvement after deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) may vary substantially between Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Research into the relation between improvement and active contact location requires a correction for anatomical variation. We studied the relation between active contact location relative to the neurophysiological STN, estimated by the intraoperative microelectrode recordings (MER-based STN), and contralateral motor improvement after one year. A generic STN shape was transformed to fit onto the stereotactically defined MER sites. The location of 43 electrodes (26 patients), derived from MRI-fused CT images, was expressed relative to this patient-specific MER-based STN. Using regression analyses, the relation between contact location and motor improvement was studied. The regression model that predicts motor improvement based on levodopa effect alone was significantly improved by adding the one-year active contact coordinates (R2 change = 0.176, p = 0.014). In the combined prediction model (adjusted R2 = 0.389, p < 0.001), the largest contribution was made by the mediolateral location of the active contact (standardized beta = 0.490, p = 0.002). With the MER-based STN as a reference, we were able to find a significant relation between active contact location and motor improvement. MER-based STN modeling can be used to complement imaging-based STN models in the application of DBS.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. e43261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana M. E. Torta ◽  
Vincenzo Vizzari ◽  
Lorys Castelli ◽  
Maurizio Zibetti ◽  
Michele Lanotte ◽  
...  

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