Vissani Matteo, Bush Alan, Lipski Witold J, Bullock Latané, Fischer Petra, Neudorfer Clemens, Holt Lori L, Fiez Julie A, Turner Robert S, Richardson R Mark
Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Nat Commun. 2025 Apr 9;16(1):3357. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-58781-8.
Speech provides a rich context for understanding how cortical interactions with the basal ganglia contribute to unique human behaviors, but opportunities for direct human intracranial recordings across cortical-basal ganglia networks are rare. Here we have recorded electrocorticographic signals in the cortex synchronously with single units in the basal ganglia during awake neurosurgeries where participants spoke syllable repetitions. We have discovered that individual subthalamic nucleus (STN) neurons have transient (200 ms) spike-phase coupling (SPC) events with multiple cortical regions. The spike timing of STN neurons is locked to the phase of theta-alpha oscillations in the supramarginal and posterior superior temporal gyrus during speech planning and production. Speech sound errors occur when this STN-cortical interaction is delayed. Our results suggest that timely interactions between the STN and the posterior perisylvian cortex support auditory-motor coordinate transformation or phonological working memory during speech planning. These findings establish a framework for understanding cortical-basal ganglia interaction in other human behaviors, and additionally indicate that firing-rate based models are insufficient for explaining basal ganglia circuit behavior.
言语为理解大脑皮层与基底神经节的相互作用如何促成独特的人类行为提供了丰富的背景信息，但跨越皮层 - 基底神经节网络进行直接人体颅内记录的机会很少。在此，我们在参与者进行音节重复的清醒神经外科手术期间，同步记录了皮层的脑电信号以及基底神经节中的单个神经元活动。我们发现，单个丘脑底核（STN）神经元与多个皮层区域存在短暂（200毫秒）的尖峰相位耦合（SPC）事件。在言语计划和产生过程中，STN神经元的尖峰时间锁定在缘上回和颞上回后部的θ - α振荡相位。当这种STN - 皮层相互作用延迟时，会出现语音错误。我们的结果表明，STN与颞周后皮层之间的及时相互作用在言语计划过程中支持听觉 - 运动坐标转换或语音工作记忆。这些发现为理解其他人类行为中的皮层 - 基底神经节相互作用建立了一个框架，此外还表明基于放电率的模型不足以解释基底神经节回路行为。
