title: Electrophysiological localization of the subthalamic nucleus in parkinsonian patients.
abstract: Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is becoming the procedure of choice to reduce symptoms of Parkinson's disease such as rigidity, akinesia and tremor. We present here a series of electrophysiological recordings performed in 34 patients along a standardized electrode trajectory. Neuronal activity along the trajectory consists of a first heterogeneous population of thalamic cells with a mean frequency of 24.8+/-1.4 Hz followed by a silent zone and a second population of STN neurones with a significantly higher spiking frequency (P<0.001) of 42.3+/-1.8 Hz. This study confirms previous findings and suggests that rapid measurement of neuronal spiking frequency and burst index is sufficient to determine precisely the vertical position of the STN.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Biologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, Rue du Bugnon 9, CH-1005 Lausanne, Switzerland. epralong@ibcm.unil.ch
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pralong
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ghika
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Temperli
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pollo
authors.forename: Francois
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vingerhoets
authors.forename: Jean-Guy
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Villemure
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D020531:Subthalamic Nucleus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000503:physiopathology