Quality index for the quantification of the information recorded along standard microelectrode tracks to the subthalamic nucleus in parkinsonian patients.
OBJECTIVE
To quantify the usefulness of the neuronal activity recorded on a standard microelectrode track to the subthalamic nucleus (STN) for the determination of the transition between the thalamus and the STN.


METHODS
The study is based on analysis of 689 extracelullar single units recorded on 70 tracks passing through the thalamus and the STN. Using four neuron parameters that were correlated with electrode depth, a quality index (QI) for each track was computed and compared with the subjective assessment by the electrophysiologist of the track quality.


RESULTS
Subjectively, the transition between the thalamus and the STN was detected in 49 tracks (usual track) and not detected on 21 tracks (unusual tracks). Objectively, spike frequency, cell burst index (BI), signal relative root mean square (RMS) and spike relative amplitude were correlated with electrode depth and used to compute track QI. The average QI index of usual and unusual tracks was 0.25 +/- 0.9 and 0.85 +/- 0.15 (mean +/- confidence interval at P < 0.001), respectively. In 20 patients, QI correlates with post-operative measurement of electrode length in the STN.


CONCLUSIONS
These results demonstrate that simple statistical analysis taking into account the variation of single-unit characteristics with electrode depth can discriminate between useful and useless tracks for the determination of the STN localisation.
Pralong
Etienne
E
Unit of Neurosurgery Neuromonitoring, Centre Hospitalier Vaudois, rue du Bugnon 21, CH-1001 Lausanne, Switzerland. etienne.pralong@hospvd.ch
Villemure
Jean-Guy
JG
Bloch
Jocelyne
J
Pollo
Claudio
C
Daniels
Roy Thomas
RT
Ghika
Josephs
J
Vingerhoets
Francois
F
Tetreault
Marie Helene
MH
Debatisse
Damien
D
D004594:Electrophysiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008839:Microelectrodes; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020531:Subthalamic Nucleus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000503:physiopathology