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Thalamic local field potentials recorded using the deep brain stimulation pulse generator.
A W G Buijink1, D A Piña-Fuentes1, M J Stam1
1Department of Neurology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Clinical Neurophysiology Practice
|March 29, 2022
Summary
Researchers recorded thalamic brain activity in an essential tremor patient using a deep brain stimulation device. This demonstrates the potential for adaptive deep brain stimulation to personalize treatment for movement disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Essential tremor (ET) is a common movement disorder treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS).
- Limitations of current DBS include increasing stimulation needs, side effects, and tolerance.
- Novel sensing-enabled DBS devices allow for LFP recording, enabling adaptive DBS algorithms.
Observation:
- Thalamic local field potential (LFP) activity was recorded using a sensing-enabled DBS pulse generator (Medtronic Percept PC).
- Tremor-related activity at 3.8 Hz and its harmonic was observed in the vim nucleus during motor tasks.
- Coherence analysis confirmed the link between peripheral tremor and thalamic LFP signals.
Findings:
- This is the first report of tremor-related thalamic activity recorded via an implanted DBS system.
- The recorded LFP activity correlated with tremor frequency and its harmonics.
- Coherence between peripheral tremor and thalamic LFP was established.
Implications:
- Sensing-enabled DBS systems offer potential for real-time monitoring of neurological activity.
- This technology could pave the way for adaptive DBS algorithms to personalize ET treatment.
- Further research is needed to validate the clinical utility of these closed-loop systems.
