Subthalamic nucleus neuronal firing rate increases with Parkinson's disease progression.

ABSTRACT: Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of dopaminergic cells in the central nervous system, in particular the substantia nigra, resulting in an unrelenting loss of motor and nonmotor function. Animal models of Parkinson's disease reveal hyperactive neurons in the subthalamic nucleus that have increased firing rates and bursting activity compared with controls. Although subthalamic nucleus activity has been characterized in patients with advanced-stage Parkinson's disease, it has not been described in patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease. Here we present the results of subthalamic nucleus neuronal recordings from patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease (Hoehn and Yahr stage II) enrolled in an ongoing clinical trial compared with

SUBMITTER: Remple MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3151310 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature