Differential modulation of thalamo-parietal interactions by varying depths of isoflurane anesthesia.

The thalamus is thought to relay peripheral sensory information to the somatosensory cortex in the parietal lobe. Long-range thalamo-parietal interactions play an important role in inducing the effect of anesthetic. However, whether these interaction changes vary with different levels of anesthesia is not known. In the present study, we investigated the influence of different levels of isoflurane-induced anesthesia on the functional connectivity between the thalamus and the parietal region. Microelectrodes were implanted in rats to record local field potentials (LFPs). The rats underwent different levels of isoflurane anesthesia [deep anesthesia: isoflurane (ISO) 2.5 vol%, light anesthesia (ISO 1 vol%), awake, and recovery state] and LFPs were recorded from four different brain areas (left parietal, right parietal, left thalamus, and right thalamus). Partial directed coherence (PDC) was calculated for these areas. With increasing depth of anesthesia, the PDC in the thalamus-to-parietal direction was significantly increased mainly in the high frequency ranges; however, in the parietal-to-thalamus direction, the increase was mainly in the low frequency band. For both directions, the PDC changes were prominent in the alpha frequency band. Functional interactions between the thalamus and parietal area are augmented proportionally to the anesthesia level. This relationship may pave the way for better understanding of the neural processing of sensory inputs from the periphery under different levels of anesthesia.

Changes in thalamo-frontal interaction under different levels of anesthesia in rats.

Anesthesia is thought to be mediated by inhibiting the integration of information between different areas of the brain. Long-range thalamo-cortical interaction plays a critical role in inducing anesthesia-related unconsciousness. However, it remains unclear how this interaction change according to anesthetic depth. In this study, we aimed to investigate how different levels of anesthesia affect thalamo-frontal interactions. Prior to the experiment, electrodes were implanted to record local field potentials (LFPs). Isoflurane (ISO) was administered and LFPs were measured in rats from four different brain areas (left frontal, right frontal, left thalamus and right thalamus) at four different anesthesia levels: awake, deep (ISO 2.5vol%), light (ISO 1vol%) and recovery. Spectral granger causality (Spectral-GC) were calculated at the measured areas in accordance with anesthetic levels. Anesthesia led to a decrease in connectivity in the thalamo-frontal direction and an increase in connectivity in the frontal-thalamic direction. The changes in thalamo-frontal functional connectivity were prominent during deep anesthesia at high frequency bands. The connection strengths between the thalamus and the frontal area changed depending on the depth of anesthesia. The relationships between anesthetic levels and thalamo-frontal activity may shed light on the neural mechanism by which different levels of anesthesia act.

An animal study to examine the effects of the bilateral, epidural cortical stimulation on the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: We examined the effects of the unilateral cortical stimulation on the survival of neurons showing degenerative changes and compared those in delaying the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) between the unilateral cortical stimulation and the bilateral one in an animal experimental model using mice. METHODS: We used 19 G93A transgenic mice and randomly divided into three groups: the control group (n=6) (the implantation of electrodes in the bilateral motor cortex without electrical stimulation), the unilateral stimulation group (n=7) (the implantation of electrodes in the unilateral motor cortex with a 24-hour cortical stimulation) and the bilateral stimulation group (n=6) (the implantation of electrodes in the bilateral motor cortex with a 24-hour cortical stimulation). RESULTS: The mean survival period was significantly longer in the bilateral stimulation group as compared with the control group (124.33 ± 11.00 days vs. 109.50 ± 10.41 days) (P<0.05). In addition, on postoperative weeks 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, the mean Rota-rod score was significantly higher in the unilateral stimulation group as compared with the control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, despite a lack of statistical significance, it was the lowest in the bilateral stimulation group on postoperative weeks 13, 14, 15 and 17. On postoperative weeks 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16, the mean score of paw-grip endurance was significantly higher in the unilateral stimulation group as compared with the control group (P<0.05). Furthermore, despite a lack of statistical significance, it was the lowest in the bilateral stimulation group on postoperative weeks 13, 14, 15 and 17. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, our results indicate that the bilateral epidural cortical stimulation might have a treatment effect in a murine model of ALS. But it is the limitation that we examined a small number of experimental animals. Further studies are therefore warranted to establish our results and to identify the optimal parameters of the epidural cortical stimulation in a larger number of experimental animals.

Near-infrared stimulation on globus pallidus and subthalamus.

Near-infrared stimulation (NIS) is an emerging technique used to evoke action potentials in nervous systems. Its efficacy of evoking action potentials has been demonstrated in different nerve tissues. However, few studies have been performed using NIS to stimulate the deep brain structures, such as globus pallidus (GP) and subthalamic nucleus (STN). Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into GP stimulation group (n=11) and STN stimulation group (n=6). After introducing optrodes stereotaxically into the GP or STN, we stimulated neural tissue for 2 min with continuous near-infrared light of 808 nm while varying the radiant exposure from 40 to 10 mW. The effects were investigated with extracellular recordings and the temperature rises at the stimulation site were also measured. NIS was found to elicit excitatory responses in eight out of 11 cases (73%) and inhibitory responses in three cases in the GP stimulation group, whereas it predominantly evoked inhibitory responses in seven out of eight cases (87.5%) and an excitatory response in one case in STN stimulation group. Only radiation above 20 mW, accompanying temperature increases of more than 2°C, elicited a statistically significant neural response (p<0.05). The responsiveness to NIS was linearly dependent on the power of radiation exposure.

The computational study of subdural cortical stimulation: a quantitative analysis of voltage and current stimulation.

We investigated the effect of electrode type and stimulation condition (voltage stimulation and current stimulation) in bi-polar subdural cortical stimulation (SCS). For this study, we developed a 3D realistic head model using MRI data with 1 mm(3) spatial resolution and simulated the model using the finite element method (FEM). For each study, we used three types of electrodes - disc, ring, and covered-disc - and three efficiency measures - effective depth of penetration, effective volume, and amount of CSF leakage current - to compare the effectiveness of the stimulation between two stimulation conditions. With voltage stimulation, there was no difference in effectiveness between the disc and ring electrodes. However, the amount of CSF leakage current for the covered-disc type was lower than that for the others. The effective depth of penetration and volume for the ring and disc type electrodes were higher than those for the covered-disc type. The current stimulation using the covered-disc electrode penetrated deeper than the other types of electrodes, and the CSF leakage current was still low. The result for voltage and current stimulation was quite different, as the substrate design manipulated the impedance and output current. In the current simulation, if the electrode was covered with the substrate, more current flowed to the cortex. On the other hand, with voltage stimulation, this substrate design makes the impedance between electrodes high, and the total current is reduced.

Dual extradural cortical stimulation in chronic stroke patients with large infarcts: technical case report.

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Recent works on extradural cortical stimulation have been successful in improving neurological recovery in chronic stroke patients. On the other hand, single perirolandic stimulations are often associated with disappointing results. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: We report two cases of chronic stroke in which the magnitude of infarct was too large to be improved with single perirolandic stimulation. Patient 1 had severe hemiplegia associated with large cortical infarct in the right frontoparietal area. The patient could neither stand independently or walk. Patient 2 had hemiplegia and aphasia due to cortical infarct in the left middle cerebral artery territory. Both patients had intensive rehabilitative training for more than 6 months with no beneficial results. INTERVENTION: Two paddle electrodes covering frontal and parietal area were implanted, followed by dual cortical stimulation with concurrent rehabilitative training in patient 1. After 6 months of stimulation, the patient could walk with a good posture. Two paddle electrodes were implanted to cover pre-motor and motor cortex in patient 2. After similar treatment, the motor function was markedly improved. CONCLUSION: Dual cortex stimulation, which acts on more diffuse areas or functionally related areas, is beneficial to promote the motor recovery in chronic stroke patients with large infarcts.