Article

Motor and emotion processing depend on different fronto-basal ganglia circuits.
Distinct sub-regions of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) may modulate these
circuits. We evaluated whether stimulation targeted at separate territories in
the STN region would differentially affect motor and emotion function. In a
double-blind design, we studied twenty Parkinson's disease patients who had deep
brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes implanted bilaterally in the STN. We
stimulated either dorsal or ventral contacts of the STN electrodes on separate
days in each patient and acquired behavioral measures. Dorsal contact stimulation
improved motor function by reducing scores on the Unified Parkinson's Disease
Rating Scale and by reducing both reaction time and reaction time variability
compared to ventral contact stimulation. By contrast, ventral contact stimulation
led to an increase in positive emotion compared to dorsal contact stimulation.
These results support the hypothesis that different territories within the STN
region implement motor and emotion functions.
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Langue : ANGLAIS