RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Spontaneous and Evoked Activity of Substantia Nigra Pars Reticulata Neurons during High-Frequency Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 9929
OP 9936
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.23-30-09929.2003
VO 23
IS 30
A1 Nicolas Maurice
A1 Anne-Marie Thierry
A1 Jacques Glowinski
A1 Jean-Michel Deniau
YR 2003
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/23/30/9929.abstract
AB The subthalamic nucleus (STN), a major component of the basal ganglia, exerts an excitatory influence on the output structures of this system i.e., the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNR) and the internal segment of the globus pallidus. High-frequency stimulation of the STN is a method currently used to treat parkinsonian symptoms. The aim of the present study was to analyze the effects of STN high-frequency stimulation on the activity of SNR neurons and to investigate its impact on the transfer of information between the cerebral cortex and the SNR. During STN high-frequency stimulation, the activity of SNR cells was decreased at low-intensity stimulation, whereas it was increased at a higher intensity. The decrease in the discharge of SNR cells likely results from the activation of a GABAergic transmission in the SNR because this effect was blocked by local application of bicuculline. The increased activity likely results from the activation of the glutamatergic subthalamonigral projection because the latency of the evoked excitations was consistent with the conduction time of the subthalamonigral neurons. Finally, during STN high-frequency stimulation, the transmission of cortical information along the direct trans-striatal pathway was preserved, whereas the functionality of the trans-subthalamic pathways was partly preserved or completely blocked depending on the stimulation intensity. The present data indicate that STN high-frequency stimulation influences the activity of SNR cells through activation of their excitatory and inhibitory synaptic afferent pathways as well as antidromic activation of the projection neurons.