Basal ganglia dysfunction in OCD: subthalamic neuronal activity correlates with symptoms severity and predicts high-frequency stimulation efficacy.

ABSTRACT: Functional and connectivity changes in corticostriatal systems have been reported in the brains of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); however, the relationship between basal ganglia activity and OCD severity has never been adequately established. We recently showed that deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN), a central basal ganglia nucleus, improves OCD. Here, single-unit subthalamic neuronal activity was analysed in 12 OCD patients, in relation to the severity of obsessions and compulsions and response to STN stimulation, and compared with that obtained in 12 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). STN neurons in OCD patients had lower discharge frequency than those in PD patients, with a similar proportion of burst-type activity (69 vs 67%). Oscillatory

SUBMITTER: Welter ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3309476 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature