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Acta Physiologica 2009; Volume 197, Supplement 674
Belgian Society for Fundamental and Clinical Physiology and Pharmacology, Autumn Meeting 2009
10/24/2009-10/24/2009
Free University of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium
EVALUATION OF HIPPOCAMPAL DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION BY SPECT
Abstract number: P-08
Van Nieuwenhuyse1 B., Wyckhuys1 T., Staelens2 S., Deleye2 S., Hallez2 H., Vonck1 K., Wadman3 W., Boon1 P.
1Laboratory for Clinical and Experimental Neurophysiology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
2Medical Image and Signal Processing Group, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
3Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Rationale:
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a promising experimental approach to treat various neurological disorders. Hippocampal DBS has recently been successfully used to treat refractory Temporal Lobe Epilepsy patients. However, the precise mechanism of action of hippocampal DBS and the affected pathways are unknown and may possibly hamper its therapeutic potential. Neuro-imaging by means of Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) is a non-invasive manner of evaluating regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) changes, which are assumed to reflect changes in neural activity. In this study, rCBF changes induced by different stimulation paradigms of hippocampal DBS were evaluated by means of subtraction analysis following small animal SPECT (mSPECT) in the rat brain.
Methods:
Rats (n=7) were implanted with a multi-contact DBS electrode in the right hippocampus. After recovery from surgery, rats received 10mCi HMPAO-Tc99m every day for several days either during application of hippocampal DBS (various stimulation paradigms) or during sham stimulation. Consequently, mSPECT scans of the brain were manually co-registered with 3T-MRI images of the same rat. Co-registered images were evaluated by means of subtraction analysis.
Results:
Hippocampal DBS with bipolar Poisson distributed stimulation caused a significant decrease in rCBF, both in the ipsi- (p<0.01) and contralateral hippocampus (p<0.001) as well as in commissura hippocampalis (p<0.01). The spatial extent of the area of decreased perfusion was correlated with the intensity of hypoperfusion (p<0.001). Other stimulation paradigms also induced hypoperfusion in these structures, but the rCBF-changes were less prominent.
Conclusions:
Small animal SPECT allows us to draw conclusions on the location, the spatial extent and the intensity of the rCBF changes induced by hippocampal DBS. Depending on the stimulation paradigm used, significant hypoperfusion was observed in the ipsi- and contralateral hippocampus as well as the commissura hippocampalis. Our results promote further research on stimulation parameters for DBS using mSPECT in rats.
To cite this abstract, please use the following information:
Acta Physiologica 2009; Volume 197, Supplement 674 :P-08