MDS Abstracts

Abstracts from the International Congress of Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders.

MENU 
  • Home
  • Meetings Archive
    • 2024 International Congress
    • 2023 International Congress
    • 2022 International Congress
    • MDS Virtual Congress 2021
    • MDS Virtual Congress 2020
    • 2019 International Congress
    • 2018 International Congress
    • 2017 International Congress
    • 2016 International Congress
  • Keyword Index
  • Resources
  • Advanced Search

Influence of different spike sorting algorithms on the detection of single unit spiking activity in the subthalamic nucleus of patients with Parkinson’s disease

J. Sukiban, R. Pauli, T.A. Dembek, I. Weber, F. Jung, N. Voges, M. Denker, S. Gruen, L. Timmermann (Cologne, Germany)

Meeting: 2016 International Congress

Abstract Number: 1304

Keywords: Deep brain stimulation (DBS), Parkinsonism, Subthalamic nucleus(SIN)

Session Information

Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Session Title: Parkinson's disease: Neuroimaging and neurophysiology

Session Time: 12:00pm-1:30pm

Location: Exhibit Hall located in Hall B, Level 2

Objective: To determine the most suitable spike sorting algorithm for intraoperatively recorded extracellular currents in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: In PD the STN may play an important role in the generation of pathological oscillatory activity within the basal ganglia-cortex loop. Extracellular currents recorded from the STN of PD patients, obtained during Deep Brain Stimulation surgery can provide important information about pathological spiking activity of STN neurons. A challenge in analyzing neural spike data is to assign detected spikes to individual neurons that contribute to the extracellularly recorded activity. To this end, a group of algorithms commonly referred to as "spike sorting" is used. Today, numerous spike sorting algorithms are available, partly side-by-side in commercial spike sorting packages. However, it is unclear to which degree different algorithms yield similar sorting results.

Methods: Spiking activity was recorded intraoperatively at multiple sites within the STN-area of 3 awake PD patients. The recorded time series were sorted ("Plexon Offline-Sorter") by 2 semi-automatic (template-based (TB) and K-Means) and by 4 automatic algorithms (K-Means, Valley-Seeking (VS), standard- and t-distribution Expectation-Maximization). We took a multiple validation approach by comparing the spike times in the detected single units (SU) to determine how the sorting procedure influences the subsequent spike train analysis.

Results: Preliminary results demonstrated a wide variability in the number of detected SU between the 6 sorting algorithms (26-62 SU in 21 channels). Additionally, the analysis of the spike trains statistics revealed a large variability in the inter-spike interval (between 52 +/-38 and 321 +/- 778 (mean +/-SD in ms)) and the coefficient of variation (between 0.61 and 18.91). In summary, though not optimal, TB- and VS-algorithms proved to be the most conservative among the sorting methods investigated.

Conclusions: Our results strongly argue for the need of a standardized validation procedure for spike sorting algorithms based on ground-truth data. Moreover, to ensure reproducibility of results and enable scientists to understand differences between results obtained from different experiments, a detailed description of spike sorting procedure becomes a necessity.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

J. Sukiban, R. Pauli, T.A. Dembek, I. Weber, F. Jung, N. Voges, M. Denker, S. Gruen, L. Timmermann. Influence of different spike sorting algorithms on the detection of single unit spiking activity in the subthalamic nucleus of patients with Parkinson’s disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2016; 31 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/influence-of-different-spike-sorting-algorithms-on-the-detection-of-single-unit-spiking-activity-in-the-subthalamic-nucleus-of-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/. Accessed May 13, 2025.
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print

« Back to 2016 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/influence-of-different-spike-sorting-algorithms-on-the-detection-of-single-unit-spiking-activity-in-the-subthalamic-nucleus-of-patients-with-parkinsons-disease/

Most Viewed Abstracts

  • This Week
  • This Month
  • All Time
  • Covid vaccine induced parkinsonism and cognitive dysfunction
  • What is the appropriate sleep position for Parkinson's disease patients with orthostatic hypotension in the morning?
  • An Apparent Cluster of Parkinson's Disease (PD) in a Golf Community
  • The hardest symptoms that bother patients with Parkinson's disease
  • Life expectancy with and without Parkinson’s disease in the general population
  • Patients with Essential Tremor Live Longer than their Relatives
  • #23624 (not found)
  • The hardest symptoms that bother patients with Parkinson's disease
  • Three cases of early tremor in the course of Guillain-Barré Syndrome
  • The impact of gastric acid suppressants and antacids on levodopa plasma concentration in patients with Parkinson’s disease
  • To be or not to bupropion: a drug-induced parkinsonism?
  • The Role of MRI and DaTscan in Vascular Parkinsonism: A Case Report
  • Help & Support
  • About Us
  • Cookies & Privacy
  • Wiley Job Network
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Advertisers & Agents
Copyright © 2025 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society. All Rights Reserved.
Wiley