Deep brain stimulation of midbrain locomotor circuits in the freely moving pig.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR) has been studied as a therapeutic target in rodent models of stroke, parkinsonism, and spinal cord injury. Clinical DBS trials have targeted the closely related pedunculopontine nucleus in patients with Parkinson's disease as a therapy for gait dysfunction, with mixed reported outcomes. Recent studies suggest that optimizing the MLR target could improve its effectiveness.

Objective

We sought to determine if stereotaxic targeting and DBS in the midbrain of the pig, in a region anatomically similar to that previously identified as the MLR in other species, could initiate and modulate ongoing locomotion, as a step towards generating a large animal neuromodulation model of gait.

Methods

We

SUBMITTER: Chang SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9097921 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature