Research reportEffect of subthalamic stimulation on distal and proximal upper limb movements in Parkinson's disease

- STN stimulation improves the speed, amplitude and rhythm of upper limb movements.
- Bi- and contralateral STN stimulation affects similarly the distal hand movements.
- Bi- but not contralateral stimulation is optimal for proximal arm movements.
- Decrement of movement cannot be controlled by the STN stimulation.

IntroductionA different innervation pattern of proximal and distal muscles from the contra- and ipsilateral motor circuits raises the question as to whether bilateral, contra- and ipsilateral subthalamic stimulation may have different effects on the distal and proximal movements of the upper limb. To answer this question, we performed kinematic analyzes in patients with Parkinson's disease.MethodsTwenty-eight Parkinsonian patients treated by bilateral subthalamic stimulation were examined with an age-matched control group of 28 healthy subjects. They performed 14 s of finger tapping, hand grasping and pronation-supination. The patient group performed these sessions in four conditions (BOTH ON, BOTH OFF, CONTRA ON, IPSI ON) after withdrawal of dopaminergic medication for 12 h and a fifth condition after taking medication (BOTH ON-MED ON). A motion sensor with a three-dimensional gyroscope was worn on the index finger. Speed, amplitude, rhythm and decrement of movements were calculated and compared across these conditions.ResultsSpeed and amplitude of the more distal movements were improved similarly by contra- and bilateral stimulation. Bilateral stimulation was more effective than contralateral stimulation for the more proximal movements. Contra- and bilateral stimulation ameliorated the rhythm similarly in each movement task. Decrement of distal and proximal movements was not affected by the stimulation conditions.ConclusionThis is the first study to show that the outcome of bi- and unilateral subthalamic stimulation on proximal and distal upper limb movements should be evaluated separately postulating the different somatotopic organization of subloops in the cortico-basal ganglia motor circuits.