Objective: To compare and contrast the effects of deep brain stimulation of (a) the subthalamic nucleus and (b) the globus pallidus interna on advanced Parkinson’s patients, in particular the effect of DBS on oculomotor control and the disturbance of information flow present in the cortico basal ganglia loops.

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) causes symptoms including stiffness, slowness of movement, and tremor. Electrical stimulation of specific areas deep in the brain can effectively treat these symptoms, but exactly how it does so is not fully understood. Part of the cause of such symptoms may be impairments in the way information flows from one circuit within the brain to another, due to overactivity of certain nerve cells.

Methods: We have used a range of complex oculomotor tasks to quantify the effects of DBS of the STN and GPi.

Results: The results from this study indicate that DBS of the GPi restores higher control over oculomotor function.

Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that stimulating the globus pallidus interna in advanced Parkinson’s patients partially reverses deficits in voluntary control of eye movements. This suggests that stimulation can improve information flow between basal ganglia circuits, probably by calming down overactive cells in the striatum. This may mean that stimulation of the globus pallidus interna could have a positive effect on those symptoms of Parkinson’s disease that are not directly movement-related.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/deep-brain-stimulation-of-the-globus-pallidus-interna-improves-performance-in-complex-oculomotor-tasks/