Neuronal activity patterns in the ventral thalamus: Comparison between Parkinson's disease and cervical dystonia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to distinguish neuronal activity patterns in the human ventral thalamus and reveal common and disease-specific features in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and cervical dystonia (CD).

Methods: Single unit activity of neurons was recorded during microelectrode-guided thalamotomies. We classified neurons of surgical target and surrounding area into patterns and compared their characteristics and responsiveness to voluntary movement between PD and CD patients.

[Dynamics of Brain Activity during Voluntary Movement: fMRI Study].

The use of event-related fMRI makes it possible to investigate spatio-temporal dynamics of cortical and subcortical human brain structures activity during voluntary movement performance in response to presentation of relevant verbal stimuli. The results of the study showed that voluntary movement was associated with higher contralateral brain activation in a number of areas: primary motor and somatosensory cortex, premotor cortex, supplementary motor area and insula with adjacent regions. Ipsilateral activation of the cerebellum also was observed.

[Typical Patterns of Neuronal Activity in Relay and Nonspecific Thalamic Nuclei in Patients with Spasmodic Torticollis].

Neuronal activity of 50 neurons in nonspecific (Rt, MD) and relay (Voi, Voa) thalamic nuclei was analyzed. Data were obtained by microelectrode technique during 14 stereotactic operations in patients with spasmodic torticollis. Application of Poincare maps and Gap-statistics allowed to reveal 3 main patterns of neuronal activity: irregular single spikes, low-threshold Ca(2+)-dependent rhythmic (3-5 Hz) bursts and combination of bursts and single spikes.