Amtage Florian, Henschel Kathrin, Schelter Björn, Vesper Jan, Timmer Jens, Lücking Carl Hermann, Hellwig Bernhard
Department of Neurology and Neurophysiology, University of Freiburg, Germany.
Clin Neurophysiol. 2009 Sep;120(9):1755-61. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2009.06.018. Epub 2009 Jul 24.
Tremor is a core symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). The subthalamic nucleus (STN) seems to be crucial for tremor pathophysiology considering that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the STN leads to an effective reduction of Parkinsonian tremor. Here, we investigate the functional connectivity between STN neurons in patients with Parkinsonian tremor.
STN activity was analyzed in 7 patients with Parkinsonian rest tremor who underwent stereotactic surgery for DBS. Spike activity was registered in different depths of the STN using an array of five microelectrodes. Interneuronal coherence within the STN was analyzed.
Significant interneuronal coherence at the tremor frequency was detected in 78 out of 145 neurons. In contrast, interneuronal coherence in the beta band occurred only in 26 out of 145 neurons. Functional connectivity at the tremor frequency can be characterized by a slowly decaying exponential curve which describes coherence between STN neurons as a function of interneuronal distances between 0 and 4mm.
Spatially distributed synchronization at the tremor frequency seems to be a key feature of STN pathophysiology in patients with Parkinsonian tremor.
The findings suggest a subthalamic tremor network which is widely extended and strongly coupled.
震颤是帕金森病（PD）的核心症状。考虑到丘脑底核（STN）的深部脑刺激（DBS）能有效减轻帕金森震颤，STN似乎在震颤病理生理学中起关键作用。在此，我们研究帕金森震颤患者STN神经元之间的功能连接。
对7例因DBS接受立体定向手术的帕金森静止性震颤患者的STN活动进行分析。使用一组五个微电极在STN的不同深度记录锋电位活动。分析STN内的神经元间相干性。
145个神经元中有78个在震颤频率处检测到显著的神经元间相干性。相比之下，β频段的神经元间相干性仅在145个神经元中的26个中出现。震颤频率处的功能连接可以用一条缓慢衰减的指数曲线来表征，该曲线将STN神经元之间的相干性描述为0至4毫米神经元间距离的函数。
在帕金森震颤患者中，震颤频率处的空间分布同步似乎是STN病理生理学的一个关键特征。
这些发现提示了一个广泛扩展且紧密耦合的丘脑底核震颤网络。
