Hannah Schoenwald BSc, Bahne H. Bahners MD, Silja Kannenberg MSc, Till A. Dembek MD, Michael T. Barbe MD, Dafina Sylaj BSc, Anja Spiewok, Saskia Elben PhD, Tomke Muettel MD, Jan Vesper MD, Philipp Slotty MD, Alfons Schnitzler MD, Stefan J. Groiss MD
Low-frequency deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) has been associated with positive effects on verbal fluency (VF) in patients with Parkinson's disease. This prospective study investigates stimulation direction-dependent and site-specific effects of theta frequency DBS on VF.
Methods
In a double-blind, cross-over design (n = 20), we tested VF during left subthalamic theta stimulation (stimulation-off, omnidirectional, and threedirectional stimulation conditions). DBS electrode localization and electric field calculations were performed (n = 18). Probabilistic sweet spot mapping identified voxels with significant change in VF.
Results
Best directional stimulation improved VF performance significantly compared with the stimulation-off and omnidirectional stimulation condition. This effect followed a medial-to-anterolateral gradient with higher VF improvement observed on the border between the motor and associative subparts of the STN.
期刊介绍:
Movement Disorders publishes a variety of content types including Reviews, Viewpoints, Full Length Articles, Historical Reports, Brief Reports, and Letters. The journal considers original manuscripts on topics related to the diagnosis, therapeutics, pharmacology, biochemistry, physiology, etiology, genetics, and epidemiology of movement disorders. Appropriate topics include Parkinsonism, Chorea, Tremors, Dystonia, Myoclonus, Tics, Tardive Dyskinesia, Spasticity, and Ataxia.