Modulation of inhibitory plasticity in basal ganglia output nuclei of patients with Parkinson's disease.

Modulation of inhibitory plasticity in basal ganglia output nuclei of patients with Parkinson's disease. Neurobiol Dis. 2018 Nov 01;: Authors: Milosevic L, Gramer R, Kim TH, Algarni M, Fasano A, Kalia SK, Hodaie M, Lozano AM, Popovic MR, Hutchison WD Abstract Deep brain stimulation of certain target structures within the basal ganglia is an effective therapy for the management of the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. However, its mechanisms, as well as the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease, are varied and complex. The classical model of Parkinson's disease states that symptoms may arise as a result of increased neuronal activity in the basal ganglia output nuclei due to downregulated GABAergic striato-nigral/-pallidal projections. We sought to investigate the stimulation and levodopa induced effects on inhibitory synaptic plasticity in these basal ganglia output nuclei, and to determine the clinical relevance of altered plasticity with respect to patients' symptoms. Two closely spaced microelectrodes were advanced into the substantia nigra pars reticulata (potential novel therapeutic target for axial motor symptoms) or globus pallidus internus (conventional therapeutic target) in each of 28 Parkinson's disease patients undergoing subthalamic or pallidal deep brain stimulation surgery. Sets of 1 Hz test-pulses were delivered at different cathodal pulse widths (25, 50, 100, 150, 250 μs) in randomized order, before and af...
Source: Neurobiology of Disease - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Neurobiol Dis Source Type: research