DYT1 dystonia: Neurophysiological properties of the pallidal activity

The aim of this paper is to find the differences in the physiology of the pallidal neurons in DYT1 and non-DYT1 dystonia.

We performed microelectrode recording of the single unit activity in both segments of the globus pallidus during stereotactic implantation of electrodes for deep brain stimulation (DBS).

We found a reduced firing rate, reduced burst rate, and increased pause index in both pallidal segments in DYT1. Also, in DYT1 the activity in both pallidal segments was similar, but not so in non-DYT1.

The results suggest a common pathological focus for both pallidal segments, located in the striatum. We also speculate that strong striatal influence on GPi and GPe overrides other input sources to the pallidal nuclei causing similarity in neuronal activity.

We found significant differences in neuronal activity between DYT1 and non-DYT1 neurons. Our findings shed light on the pathophysiology of DYT-1 dystonia which can be very different from non-DYT1 dystonia and have other efficient treatment tactics.