title: Subthalamic nucleus stimulation and spontaneous language production in Parkinson's disease: A double laterality problem.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asymmetric degeneration of dopaminergic neurons, are characteristic for Parkinson's disease (PD). Despite the lateralized representation of language, the correlation of asymmetric degeneration of nigrostriatal networks in PD with language performance has scarcely been examined.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The laterality of dopamine depletion influences language deficits in PD and thus modulates the effects of subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation on language production.
  
  
  METHODS
  The spontaneous language production of patients with predominant dopamine depletion of the left (PD-left) and right (PD-right) hemisphere was compared in four stimulation conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PD-right made comparatively more verb inflection errors than PD-left. Bilateral STN stimulation improves spontaneous language production only for PD-left.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The laterality of dopamine depletion influences spontaneous language production and the effect of STN stimulation on linguistic functions. However, it is probably only one of the many variables influencing the effect of STN stimulation on language production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: katja.batens@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Batens
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Miet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Letter
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Internal Medicine, Neurology, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Robrecht
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raedt
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Wouter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Duyck
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Neurology, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vanhoutte
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Van Roost
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Ghent University Hospital, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium; Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Santens
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation; D004298:Dopamine / Q000172:deficiency / Q000378:metabolism; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013060:Speech; D020531:Subthalamic Nucleus / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D004298:Dopamine
keywords: Asymmetric dopamine depletion; Deep brain stimulation; Lateralization of linguistic functions; Parkinson’s disease; Spontaneous language production