The subthalamic nucleus influences visuospatial attention in humans

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neurology

Background:

• Spatial attention is a lateralized brain function, with cortical roles well-studied.
• The subthalamic nucleus's (SN) specific impact on spatial attention remains unclear.
• Basal ganglia (BG) involvement in attention requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the subthalamic nucleus's role in visuospatial attention.
• To examine the effects of unilateral and bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (DBS) on spatial attention.
• To understand the subthalamic nucleus's contribution to the subcortical attention network.

Main Methods:

• Unilateral and bilateral subthalamic nucleus DBS in 13 Parkinson's disease patients.
• Eye-tracking to record eye movements during visual stimulus exploration.
• Analysis of exploration time and saccade parameters across different stimulation settings.

Main Results:

• Unilateral left-sided SN stimulation reduced exploration of the contralateral (right) hemispace.
• This reduction in visuospatial attention vanished when the right SN stimulator was active.
• Saccade metrics (number, duration, speed) did not significantly differ between settings.

Conclusions:

• The subthalamic nucleus plays a crucial role in modulating spatial attention.
• Findings support the subthalamic nucleus as a component of the subcortical network for spatial attention.
• This research clarifies the subthalamic nucleus's specific contribution to attention mechanisms.