MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit at the University of Oxford, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Movement Disorders and Neurostimulation, Department of Neurology, Focus Program Translational Neuroscience (FTN), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
PLoS Biol. 2023 Jun 1;21(6):e3002140. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002140. eCollection 2023 Jun.
Adapting actions to changing goals and environments is central to intelligent behavior. There is evidence that the basal ganglia play a crucial role in reinforcing or adapting actions depending on their outcome. However, the corresponding electrophysiological correlates in the basal ganglia and the extent to which these causally contribute to action adaptation in humans is unclear. Here, we recorded electrophysiological activity and applied bursts of electrical stimulation to the subthalamic nucleus, a core area of the basal ganglia, in 16 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) on medication using temporarily externalized deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes. Patients as well as 16 age- and gender-matched healthy participants attempted to produce forces as close as possible to a target force to collect a maximum number of points. The target force changed over trials without being explicitly shown on the screen so that participants had to infer target force based on the feedback they received after each movement. Patients and healthy participants were able to adapt their force according to the feedback they received (P < 0.001). At the neural level, decreases in subthalamic beta (13 to 30 Hz) activity reflected poorer outcomes and stronger action adaptation in 2 distinct time windows (Pcluster-corrected < 0.05). Stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus reduced beta activity and led to stronger action adaptation if applied within the time windows when subthalamic activity reflected action outcomes and adaptation (Pcluster-corrected < 0.05). The more the stimulation volume was connected to motor cortex, the stronger was this behavioral effect (Pcorrected = 0.037). These results suggest that dynamic modulation of the subthalamic nucleus and interconnected cortical areas facilitates adaptive behavior.
适应不断变化的目标和环境是智能行为的核心。有证据表明，基底神经节在根据行为结果强化或适应行为方面起着至关重要的作用。然而，基底神经节中的相应电生理相关性以及这些相关性在多大程度上因果地促成人类的行为适应尚不清楚。在这里，我们使用暂时外部化的深部脑刺激 (DBS) 电极，在 16 名服用药物的帕金森病 (PD) 患者的基底神经节核心区域丘脑底核中记录电生理活动并施加电刺激脉冲。患者以及 16 名年龄和性别匹配的健康参与者试图尽可能接近地产生力，以收集最多的分数。目标力在试验中变化而不在屏幕上明确显示，因此参与者必须根据他们每次运动后的反馈来推断目标力。患者和健康参与者能够根据他们收到的反馈来调整他们的力量（P < 0.001）。在神经水平上，丘脑底核β（13 至 30 Hz）活动的减少反映了较差的结果和在两个不同的时间窗口更强的行为适应（Pcluster-corrected < 0.05）。如果在反映行为结果和适应的时间窗口内施加刺激，刺激丘脑底核会降低β活动并导致更强的行为适应（Pcluster-corrected < 0.05）。刺激体积与运动皮层连接得越多，这种行为效应就越强（Pcorrected = 0.037）。这些结果表明，丘脑底核和相互连接的皮质区域的动态调制促进了适应性行为。
