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Activation metrics for structural connectivity recruitment in deep brain stimulation.
Konstantin Butenko1,2, Jan Roediger1,3, Bassam Al-Fatly1
1Movement Disorders and Neuromodulation Unit, Department of Neurology with Experimental Neurology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin 10117, Germany.
Brain Communications
|September 4, 2025
Summary
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) effectiveness in Parkinson's disease is linked to activating specific neural pathways. Probabilistic modeling of axonal activation metrics aids in understanding and predicting these therapeutic effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
- Computational Modeling
Background:
- Myelinated fibers' high excitability suggests a key role in deep brain stimulation (DBS) mechanisms.
- Modeling DBS effects requires varying levels of abstraction, from simple electric fields to complex axon models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate three metrics for axonal activation: electric field magnitudes, projections, and pathway activation modeling.
- To compute these metrics probabilistically, accounting for axonal morphology variability.
- To analyze their relevance in Parkinson's disease patients undergoing subthalamic nucleus DBS.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 15 Parkinson's disease patients receiving subthalamic nucleus DBS in bipolar mode.
- Computation of electric field magnitudes, electric field projections, and pathway activation modeling.
- Probabilistic calculation of metrics to address axonal morphology variability.
Main Results:
- Electric field metrics showed high similarity in activation patterns.
- Pathway activation modeling exhibited differences, potentially due to polarity capture.
- All metrics correlated motor improvement with activation of motor pallidosubthalamic and hyperdirect pathways.
Conclusions:
- Probabilistic modeling of axonal activation metrics provides insights into DBS mechanisms.
- The developed framework, implemented in the Lead-DBS toolbox, is publicly available.
- Understanding axonal activation is crucial for optimizing DBS therapy for movement disorders.
Keywords:
axonal activationdeep brain stimulationelectric fieldpathway activation modelingprobabilistic modelingMore Related Videos
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