Medical School of Chinese PLA, Beijing, China.
Department of Neurosurgery, the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
CNS Neurosci Ther. 2023 Jan;29(1):344-353. doi: 10.1111/cns.14009. Epub 2022 Nov 15.
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a potential neuromodulatory therapy that enhances recovery from disorders of consciousness, especially minimally conscious state (MCS). This study measured the effects of DBS on the brain and explored the underlying mechanisms of DBS on MCS.
Nine patients with MCS were recruited for this study. The neuromodulation effects of 100 Hz DBS were explored via cross-control experiments. Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) and EEG were recorded, and corresponding functional connectivity and network parameters were calculated.
Our results showed that 100 Hz DBS could improve the functional connectivity of the whole, local and local-local brain regions, while no significant change in EEG functional connectivity was observed in sham DBS. The whole brain's network parameters (clustering coefficient, path length, and small world characteristic) were significantly improved. In addition, a significant increase in the CRS-R and functional connectivity of three MCS patients who received 100 Hz DBS for 6 months were observed.
This study showed that DBS improved EEG functional connectivity and brain networks, indicating that the long-term use of DBS could improve the level of consciousness of MCS patients.
深部脑刺激（DBS）是一种潜在的神经调节疗法，可促进意识障碍（尤其是最小意识状态[MCS]）的恢复。本研究测量了 DBS 对大脑的影响，并探索了 DBS 对 MCS 的潜在作用机制。
本研究纳入了 9 例 MCS 患者。通过交叉对照实验探索了 100Hz DBS 的神经调节作用。记录昏迷恢复量表修订版（CRS-R）和脑电图（EEG），并计算相应的功能连接和网络参数。
我们的结果表明，100Hz DBS 可以改善整个、局部和局部-局部脑区的功能连接，而假刺激 DBS 对 EEG 功能连接没有明显影响。全脑的网络参数（聚类系数、路径长度和小世界特征）明显改善。此外，还观察到 3 例接受 100Hz DBS 治疗 6 个月的 MCS 患者的 CRS-R 和功能连接显著增加。
本研究表明，DBS 改善了 EEG 功能连接和脑网络，提示长期使用 DBS 可能提高 MCS 患者的意识水平。
