Resonant Antidromic Cortical Circuit Activation as a Consequence of High-Frequency Subthalamic Deep-Brain Stimulation

• Authors: S. Li, Emory University; G. W. Arbuthnott, University of Edinburgh; M. J. Jutras, Emory University; J. A. Goldberg, University of Texas San Antonio; Dieter Jaeger, Emory University
• Journal Title: Journal of Neurophysiology
• Publisher: American Physiological Society | 2007-10-10
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.1152/jn.00808.2007
• Subjects: Biology, Neuroscience; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery
• Keywords: deep brain stimulation (DBS); Parkinson's disease (PD); high-frequency biphasic stimulation; implanted depth electrode; subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS); cortical network; basal ganglia network; oscillatory activity; synchronous activity; antidromic cortical activation; cortical efferent pathways; intracellular cortical recordings; antidromic spikes; anesthesia; cortical microcircuits

Abstract

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) for many patients. The most effective stimulation consists of high-frequency biphasic stimulation pulses around 130 Hz delivered between two active sites of an implanted depth electrode to the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS). Multiple studies have shown that a key effect of STN-DBS that correlates well with clinical outcome is the reduction of synchronous and oscillatory activity in cortical and basal ganglia networks. We hypothesized that antidromic cortical activation may provide an underlying mechanism responsible for this effect, because stimulation is usually performed in proximity to cortical efferent pathways. We show with intracellular cortical recordings in rats that STN-DBS did in fact lead to antidromic spiking of deep layer cortical neurons. Furthermore, antidromic spikes triggered a dampened oscillation of local field potentials in cortex with a resonant frequency around 120 Hz. The amplitude of antidromic activation was significantly correlated with an observed suppression of slow wave and beta band activity during STN-DBS. These findings were seen in ketamine-xylazine or isoflurane anesthesia in both normal and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)–lesioned rats. Thus antidromic resonant activation of cortical microcircuits may make an important contribution toward counteracting the overly synchronous and oscillatory activity characteristic of cortical activity in PD.