Category: Surgical Therapy: Parkinson's Disease
Objective: To study changes in beta oscillation before and after microlesion effect in deep brain stimulation (DBS) lead implantation.
Background: Increased beta oscillation has been observed in the subthalamic nucleus of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients and correlates with the severity of motor symptoms. The sensor system for DBS, which has been in practical use since 2000, can continuously monitor beta oscillation by recording local field potential (LFP). The microlesion effect of DBS lead implantation during the first months after implantation significantly improves the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease without electrical stimulation. On the other hand, the details of beta oscillations during the microlesion effect are not well understood.
Method: 5 PD patients underwent bilateral subthalamic DBS with integrated sensor capabilities. On the day after implantation, the initial intensity and frequency of the LFPs were recorded (postOP). After clinical diminution of post-implantation Parkinsonian symptom improvement, intensity and frequency of LFPs were recorded again before the start of clinical stimulation (preSTIM). Both evaluations were performed with more than twelve hours off medication.
Results: 10 postOP LFPs and 9 preSTIM LFPs were obtained; the average intensity and frequency for postOP were 1.32 ± 0.52 (μVp) and 15.63 ± 4.34 (Hz), respectively, and for postSTIM were 2.77 ± 1.83 and 19.21 ± 5.29, respectively. In the 9 pairs of LFPs where both postOP and preSTIM were obtained, the intensity was increased in all combinations and the frequency was shifted higher in 7 pairs. While the lower intensity of LFP in postOP compared to PreSTIM was thought to be consistent with improved motor symptoms during the microlesion effect period, whether the mechanism was due to local tissue damage or altered neural circuit function could not be determined in this study and requires further investigation. The mechanism of the higher frequency of LFP in postOP compared to PreSTIM is unknown, but the fact that similar changes were observed in most pairs suggests that it is related to the microlesion effect.
Conclusion: The beta oscillation observed in the LFP of the subthalamic nucleus during the microlesion effect period after DBS lead implantation showed changes in both intensity and frequency, which may be related to changes in motor symptoms.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
H. Saiki, T. Nakura, S. Taguchi, S. Miyachi, M. Doyu. Postoperative change of local field potentials of subthalamic nucleus during and after period of microlesion effect of implantation of deep brain stimulation lead. [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2023; 38 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/postoperative-change-of-local-field-potentials-of-subthalamic-nucleus-during-and-after-period-of-microlesion-effect-of-implantation-of-deep-brain-stimulation-lead/. Accessed May 16, 2025.« Back to 2023 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/postoperative-change-of-local-field-potentials-of-subthalamic-nucleus-during-and-after-period-of-microlesion-effect-of-implantation-of-deep-brain-stimulation-lead/