Auditory cueing in Parkinson's patients with freezing of gait. What matters most: action-relevance or cue-continuity?

Gait disturbances are a common feature of Parkinson’s disease, one of the most severe being freezing of gait. Sensory cueing is a common method used to facilitate stepping in people with Parkinson’s. Recent work has shown that, compared to walking to a metronome, Parkinson’s patients without freezing of gait (nFOG) showed reduced gait variability when imitating recorded sounds of footsteps made on gravel. However, it is not known if these benefits are realised through the continuity of the acoustic information or the action-relevance. Furthermore, no study has examined if these benefits extend to PD with freezing of gait. We prepared four different auditory cues (varying in action-relevance and acoustic continuity) and asked 19 Parkinson’s patients (10 nFOG, 9 with freezing of gait (FOG)) to step in place to each cue. Results showed a superiority of action-relevant cues (regardless of cue-continuity) for inducing reductions in Step coefficient of variation (CV). Acoustic continuity was associated with a significant reduction in Swing CV. Neither cue-continuity nor action-relevance was independently sufficient to increase the time spent stepping before freezing. However, combining both attributes in the same cue did yield significant improvements. This study demonstrates the potential of using action-sounds as sensory cues for Parkinson’s patients with freezing of gait. We suggest that the improvements shown might be considered audio-motor ‘priming’ (i.e., listening to the sounds of footsteps will engage sensorimotor circuitry relevant to the production of that same action, thus effectively bypassing the defective basal ganglia).This research was supported by a European Research Council grant (TEMPUS_G; 210007 StIG)

Sensing data and methodology from the Adaptive DBS Algorithm for Personalized Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease (ADAPT-PD) clinical trial

Adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS) is an emerging advancement in DBS technology; however, local field potential (LFP) signal rate detection sufficient for aDBS algorithms and the methods to set-up aDBS have yet to be defined. Here we summarize sensing data and aDBS programming steps associated with the ongoing Adaptive DBS Algorithm for Personalized Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease (ADAPT-PD) pivotal trial (NCT04547712). Sixty-eight patients were enrolled with either subthalamic nucleus or globus pallidus internus DBS leads connected to a Medtronic PerceptTM PC neurostimulator. During the enrollment and screening procedures, a LFP (8–30 Hz, ≥1.2 µVp) control signal was identified by clinicians in 84.8% of patients on medication (65% bilateral signal), and in 92% of patients off medication (78% bilateral signal). The ADAPT-PD trial sensing data indicate a high LFP signal presence in both on and off medication states of these patients, with bilateral signal in the majority, regardless of PD phenotype

Quantitative Measurements of Alternating Finger Tapping in Parkinson's Disease Correlate With UPDRS Motor Disability and Reveal the Improvement in Fine Motor Control From Medication and Deep Brain Stimulation

Abstract: The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UP-DRS) is the primary outcome measure in most clinical trials of Parkinson's disease (PD) therapeutics. Each subscore of the motor section (UPDRS III) compresses a wide range of motor performance into a coarse-grained scale from 0 to 4; the assessment of performance can also be subjective. Quantitative digitography (QDG) is an objective, quantitative assessment of digital motor control using a computer-interfaced musical keyboard. In this study, we show that the kinematics of a repetitive alternating finger-tapping (RAFT) task using QDG correlate with the UPDRS motor score, particularly with the bradykinesia subscore, in 33 patients with PD. We show that dopaminergic medication and an average of 9.5 months of bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (B-STN DBS) significantly improve UPDRS and QDG scores but may have different effects on certain kinematic parameters. This study substantiates the use of QDG to measure motor outcome in trials of PD therapeutics and shows that medication and B-STN DBS both improve fine motor control

Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Deep Brain Stimulation Think Tank: A Review of Emerging Issues and Technologies

This paper provides an overview of current progress in the technological advances and the use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, as presented by participants of the Fourth Annual DBS Think Tank, which was convened in March 2016 in conjunction with the Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration at the University of Florida, Gainesveille FL, USA. The Think Tank discussions first focused on policy and advocacy in DBS research and clinical practice, formation of registries, and issues involving the use of DBS in the treatment of Tourette Syndrome. Next, advances in the use of neuroimaging and electrochemical markers to enhance DBS specificity were addressed. Updates on ongoing use and developments of DBS for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, obesity, addiction were presented, and progress toward innovation(s) in closed-loop applications were discussed. Each section of these proceedings provides updates and highlights of new information as presented at this year’s international Think Tank, with a view toward current and near future advancement of the field

Proceedings of the 11th Annual Deep Brain Stimulation Think Tank: pushing the forefront of neuromodulation with functional network mapping, biomarkers for adaptive DBS, bioethical dilemmas, AI-guided neuromodulation, and translational advancements

The Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Think Tank XI was held on August 9–11, 2023 in Gainesville, Florida with the theme of “Pushing the Forefront of Neuromodulation”. The keynote speaker was Dr. Nico Dosenbach from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He presented his research recently published in Nature inn a collaboration with Dr. Evan Gordon to identify and characterize the somato-cognitive action network (SCAN), which has redefined the motor homunculus and has led to new hypotheses about the integrative networks underpinning therapeutic DBS. The DBS Think Tank was founded in 2012 and provides an open platform where clinicians, engineers, and researchers (from industry and academia) can freely discuss current and emerging DBS technologies, as well as logistical and ethical issues facing the field. The group estimated that globally more than 263,000 DBS devices have been implanted for neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. This year's meeting was focused on advances in the following areas: cutting-edge translational neuromodulation, cutting-edge physiology, advances in neuromodulation from Europe and Asia, neuroethical dilemmas, artificial intelligence and computational modeling, time scales in DBS for mood disorders, and advances in future neuromodulation devices

Proceedings of the 10th annual deep brain stimulation think tank: Advances in cutting edge technologies, artificial intelligence, neuromodulation, neuroethics, interventional psychiatry, and women in neuromodulation

The deep brain stimulation (DBS) Think Tank X was held on August 17-19, 2022 in Orlando FL. The session organizers and moderators were all women with the theme women in neuromodulation. Dr. Helen Mayberg from Mt. Sinai, NY was the keynote speaker. She discussed milestones and her experiences in developing depression DBS. The DBS Think Tank was founded in 2012 and provides an open platform where clinicians, engineers and researchers (from industry and academia) can freely discuss current and emerging DBS technologies as well as the logistical and ethical issues facing the field. The consensus among the DBS Think Tank X speakers was that DBS has continued to expand in scope however several indications have reached the "trough of disillusionment." DBS for depression was considered as "re-emerging" and approaching a slope of enlightenment. DBS for depression will soon re-enter clinical trials. The group estimated that globally more than 244,000 DBS devices have been implanted for neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. This year's meeting was focused on advances in the following areas: neuromodulation in Europe, Asia, and Australia; cutting-edge technologies, closed loop DBS, DBS tele-health, neuroethics, lesion therapy, interventional psychiatry, and adaptive DBS

Proceedings of the 11th Annual Deep Brain Stimulation Think Tank: pushing the forefront of neuromodulation with functional network mapping, biomarkers for adaptive DBS, bioethical dilemmas, AI-guided neuromodulation, and translational advancements

The Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Think Tank XI was held on August 9–11, 2023 in Gainesville, Florida with the theme of “Pushing the Forefront of Neuromodulation”. The keynote speaker was Dr. Nico Dosenbach from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He presented his research recently published in Nature inn a collaboration with Dr. Evan Gordon to identify and characterize the somato-cognitive action network (SCAN), which has redefined the motor homunculus and has led to new hypotheses about the integrative networks underpinning therapeutic DBS. The DBS Think Tank was founded in 2012 and provides an open platform where clinicians, engineers, and researchers (from industry and academia) can freely discuss current and emerging DBS technologies, as well as logistical and ethical issues facing the field. The group estimated that globally more than 263,000 DBS devices have been implanted for neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. This year's meeting was focused on advances in the following areas: cutting-edge translational neuromodulation, cutting-edge physiology, advances in neuromodulation from Europe and Asia, neuroethical dilemmas, artificial intelligence and computational modeling, time scales in DBS for mood disorders, and advances in future neuromodulation devices

The functional organization of the sensorimotor region of the subthalamic nucleus

Deep brain stimulation ( DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus ( STN) is viewed by many as the ultimate therapy targeting severe advanced stages of Parkinson's disease ( PD). A fundamental constituent of the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of DBS is clearly the functional organization of the STN; however, there is limited understanding of the organization of this structure in humans. Data from primates suggest that different domains can be identified in the STN, including a sensorimotor area with a segregated body map, as well as nonmotor areas. Recent clinical studies have used microelectrode recording to investigate the presence of a body map in the sensorimotor STN of PD patients. This paper will review and compare experimental and clinical data regarding the functional organization of the STN and discuss the clinical implications for PD patients undergoing STN DBS. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel