Stimulation-Evoked Resonant Neural Activity in the Subthalamic Nucleus Is Modulated by Sleep.
In this study, we investigate a brain signal triggered by electrical stimulation in individuals with Parkinson’s. We demonstrate how this signal varies across different stages of wakefulness and sleep. This may help tailor deep brain stimulation to specific sleep stages, potentially improving patients’ sleep quality.
Background
Deep brain stimulation is a treatment for advanced Parkinson's disease and currently tuned to target motor symptoms during daytime. Parkinson's disease is associated with multiple nocturnal symptoms such as akinesia, insomnia, and sleep fragmentation, which may require adjustments of stimulation during sleep for best treatment outcome.
Objectives
There is a need for a robust biomarker to guide stimulation titration across sleep stages. This study aimed to investigate whether evoked resonant neural activity (ERNA) is modulated by sleep.
Methods
We recorded local field potentials from the subthalamic nucleus of four Parkinson's patients with externalized electrodes while applying single stimulation pulses to investigate the effect of sleep on ERNA.
Results
We found that ERNA features change with wakefulness and sleep stages and are correlated with canonical frequency bands and heart rate.
Conclusion
Given that ERNA modulates with sleep, it could be used as a robust marker for automatic stimulation titration during sleep.
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