title: Thalamic single-unit and local field potential activity in Tourette syndrome.
abstract: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventralis oralis (VO) complex of the thalamus improves tics in patients with Tourette syndrome (TS). To neurophysiologically describe the VO complex we recorded, in seven patients with TS undergoing DBS electrode implantation, single-unit activity during surgery and local field potentials (LFPs) a few days after surgery. Single unit recordings showed that the VO complex is characterized by a localized pattern of bursting neuronal activity. LFP spectra demonstrated that VO of TS patients has a prominent oscillatory activity at low frequencies (2-7 Hz) and in the alpha-band (8-13 Hz), and a virtually absent beta activity. In each patient, the main LFP frequency significantly correlated with single-unit interburst frequency. In conclusion, we observed an oscillatory bursting activity in the VO as target region in patients with severe TS undergoing DBS surgery.
authors.affiliation: Centro Clinico per le Neuronanotecnologie e la Neurostimolazione, Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Maggiore, Policlinico, Mangiagalli e Regina Elena, Università di Milano, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marceglia
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Servello
authors.forename: Guglielmo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Foffani
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Porta
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sassi
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mrakic-Sposta
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barbieri
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Priori
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008839:Microelectrodes; D008875:Middle Aged; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis / Q000379:methods; D013788:Thalamus / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D055815:Young Adult