Activation of the subthalamic nucleus suppressed by high frequency stimulation: a c-Fos immunohistochemical study.

Activation of the subthalamic nucleus suppressed by high frequency stimulation: a c-Fos immunohistochemical study. Brain Res. 2018 Feb 05;: Authors: Shehab S, D'souza C, Ljubisavljevic M, Redgrave P Abstract Deep Brain Stimulation applied at high frequency (HFS) to the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is used to ameliorate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The mechanism by which this is achieved remains controversial. In particular, it is uncertain whether HFS has a suppressive or excitatory action locally within the STN. Brief exposure of rats to ether anaesthesia evokes pathological burst firing and associated expression of the immediate early gene c-Fos in STN neurons. We used this ether model of STN activation to test the effect of a range of HFS parameters on c-Fos expression evoked by the anesthetic. The elevated baseline of c-Fos expression afforded the possibility of detecting further excitatory, or suppressive effects of STN HFS. Four HFS protocols were examined; 130, 200 and 260Hz with 60µs, and 130Hz with 90µs pulse width (HFS intensity:150-300µA). All HFS protocols were applied for 20 minutes while the animals were exposed to ether. Ether-evoked expression of c-Fos immunoreactivity was suppressed by HFS at 200 and 260Hz with a pulse width of 60µs, and by 130Hz when the pulse width was increased to 90µs. HFS at 130Hz with the 60µs pulse width had no significant effect, and HFS alone caused negligible c-Fos expression in ...
Source: Brain Research - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Brain Res Source Type: research