[Functional imaging of deep brain stimulation in idiopathic Parkinson's disease]

Functional brain imaging allows the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) on the living human brain to be investigated. In patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), positron emission tomography (PET) studies were undertaken at rest as well as under motor, cognitive or behavioral activation. DBS leads to a reduction of abnormal PD-related network activity in the motor system, which partly correlates with the improvement of motor symptoms. The local increase of energy consumption within the direct target area suggests a predominant excitatory influence of the stimulation current on neuronal tissue. Remote effects of DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) on frontal association cortices indicate an interference of stimulation energy with associative and limbic basal ganglia loops. Taken together, functional brain imaging provides very valuable data for advancement of the DBS technique in PD therapy.