title: Deep Brain Stimulation Frequency of the Subthalamic Nucleus Affects Phonemic and Action Fluency in Parkinson's Disease.
abstract: Introduction.Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) has been linked to a decline in verbal fluency. The decline can be attributed to surgical effects, but the relative contributions of the stimulation parameters are not well understood. This study aimed to investigate the impact of the frequency of STN-DBS on the performance of verbal fluency tasks in patients with PD.Methods.Twenty individuals with PD who received bilateral STN-DBS were evaluated. Their performances of verbal fluency tasks (semantic, phonemic, action, and unconstrained fluencies) upon receiving low-frequency (60 Hz) and high-frequency (130 Hz) STN-DBS were assessed.Results.The performances of phonemic and action fluencies were significantly different between low- and high-frequency STN-DBS. Patients showed a decrease in these verbal fluencies for high-frequency STN-DBS.Conclusion.Low-frequency STN-DBS may be less harmful to the verbal fluency of PD patients.
authors.affiliation: Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (InsCer), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Valéria de Carvalho
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8390-2525
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Fagundes
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Federal University of Health Sciences from Porto Alegre (UFCSPA), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos R M
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2950-7211
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Rieder
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aline Nunes
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: da Cruz
authors.affiliation: Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bárbara Costa
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Beber
authors.affiliation: Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (InsCer), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mirna Wetters
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4068-6249
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Portuguez