title: Spinal cord stimulation alleviates motor deficits in a primate model of Parkinson disease.
abstract: Although deep brain electrical stimulation can alleviate the motor symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD), just a small fraction of patients with PD can take advantage of this procedure due to its invasive nature. A significantly less invasive method--epidural spinal cord stimulation (SCS)--has been suggested as an alternative approach for symptomatic treatment of PD. However, the mechanisms underlying motor improvements through SCS are unknown. Here, we show that SCS reproducibly alleviates motor deficits in a primate model of PD. Simultaneous neuronal recordings from multiple structures of the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic loop in parkinsonian monkeys revealed abnormal highly synchronized neuronal activity within each of these structures and excessive functional coupling among them. SCS disrupted this pathological circuit behavior in a manner that mimics the effects caused by pharmacological dopamine replacement therapy or deep brain stimulation. These results suggest that SCS should be considered as an additional treatment option for patients with PD.
authors.affiliation: Edmond and Lily Safra Institute of Neuroscience of Natal, 590660 Natal, Brazil.|Psychobiology, Federal Univ. of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maxwell B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Santana
authors.affiliation: Integrative Neurophysiology and Neurotechnology, Neuronano Research Center, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, BMC F10, S-221 84 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Pär
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Halje
authors.affiliation: Edmond and Lily Safra Institute of Neuroscience of Natal, 590660 Natal, Brazil.|State Univ. of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hougelle
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Simplício
authors.affiliation: Integrative Neurophysiology and Neurotechnology, Neuronano Research Center, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, BMC F10, S-221 84 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Richter
authors.affiliation: Edmond and Lily Safra Institute of Neuroscience of Natal, 590660 Natal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marco Aurelio M
authors.initials: MAM
authors.lastname: Freire
authors.affiliation: Integrative Neurophysiology and Neurotechnology, Neuronano Research Center, Department of Experimental Medical Sciences, Lund University, BMC F10, S-221 84 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Per
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Petersson
authors.affiliation: Edmond and Lily Safra Institute of Neuroscience of Natal, 590660 Natal, Brazil.
authors.forename: Romulo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fuentes
authors.affiliation: Edmond and Lily Safra Institute of Neuroscience of Natal, 590660 Natal, Brazil.|Biomedical Engineering, Duke Univ., Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A.|Ctr. for Neuroengineering, Duke Univ., Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A.|Dept. of Neurobiology, Duke Univ., Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A.|Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke Univ., Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Miguel A L
authors.initials: MAL
authors.lastname: Nicolelis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002144:Callithrix; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000503:physiopathology*; D062187:Spinal Cord Stimulation; D016896:Treatment Outcome