Perez-Caballero Laura, Carceller Hector, Nacher Juan, Teruel-Marti Vicent, Pujades Eulalia, Casañ-Pastor Nieves, Berrocoso Esther
Neuropsychopharmacology and Psychobiology Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Cádiz, 11003 Cádiz, Spain.
Instituto de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica de Cádiz, Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar, 11009 Cádiz, Spain.
J Clin Med. 2021 Sep 4;10(17):4003. doi: 10.3390/jcm10174003.
There is evidence that Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) produces health benefits in patients even before initiating stimulation. Furthermore, DBS electrode insertion in rat infralimbic cortex (ILC) provokes antidepressant-like effects before stimulation, due to local inflammation and astrogliosis. Consequently, a significant effect of implanting electrodes is suspected. External fields, similar in magnitude to the brain's endogenous fields, induce electric dipoles in conducting materials, in turn influencing neural cell growth through wireless effects. To elucidate if such dipoles influence depressive-like behavior, without external stimulation, the comparative effect of conducting and insulated electrodes along with the glial response is studied in unstressed rats. Naïve and implanted rats with electrically insulated or uninsulated steel electrodes were evaluated in the modified forced swimming test and expression of ILC-glial markers was assessed. An antidepressant-like effect was observed with conducting but not with insulated electrodes. Gliosis was detected in both groups, but astroglial reactivity was larger near uninsulated electrodes. Thus, induced dipoles and antidepressant-like effects were only observed with conducting implants. Such correlation suggests that dipoles induced in electrodes by endogenous fields in turn induce neuron stimulation in a feedback loop between electrodes and neural system. Further research of the effects of unwired conducting implants could open new approaches to regulating neuronal function, and possibly treat neurological disorders.
有证据表明，深部脑刺激（DBS）在开始刺激之前就能给患者带来健康益处。此外，将DBS电极插入大鼠边缘下皮质（ILC）会在刺激前引发类似抗抑郁的效果，这是由于局部炎症和星形胶质细胞增生所致。因此，人们怀疑电极植入有显著效果。与大脑内源场强度相似的外部场会在导电材料中诱导电偶极子，进而通过无线效应影响神经细胞生长。为了阐明在无外部刺激的情况下这种偶极子是否会影响类似抑郁的行为，我们在未受应激的大鼠中研究了导电电极和绝缘电极的比较效果以及胶质细胞反应。对未植入和植入了电绝缘或非绝缘钢电极的大鼠进行改良强迫游泳试验评估，并评估ILC胶质细胞标志物的表达。观察到导电电极有类似抗抑郁的效果，而绝缘电极则没有。两组均检测到胶质细胞增生，但非绝缘电极附近的星形胶质细胞反应性更大。因此，仅在导电植入物中观察到诱导电偶极子和类似抗抑郁的效果。这种相关性表明，内源场在电极中诱导电偶极子，进而在电极与神经系统之间的反馈回路中诱导神经元刺激。对无导线导电植入物效果的进一步研究可能会开辟调节神经元功能的新方法，并有可能治疗神经系统疾病。
