Spatial distance between anatomically- and physiologically-identified targets in subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease.

Background: Subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation is the treatment of choice for carefully chosen patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and refractory motor fluctuations. We evaluated the value of intraoperative electrophysiology during STN deep brain stimulation (DBS) procedures in refining the anatomically-defined target.

Methods: We determined the spatial distance between the anatomical and physiological targets along x, y and z axes in 50 patients with PD who underwent bilateral subthalamic nucleus DBS surgery.