Electrographic seizures during low-current thalamic deep brain stimulation in mice

Francisco J. Flores; Isabella Dalla Betta; John Tauber; David R. Schreier; Emily P. Stephen; Matthew A. Wilson; Emery N. Brown

Brain Stimulation (Sep 2024)

Electrographic seizures during low-current thalamic deep brain stimulation in mice

Francisco J. Flores,
Isabella Dalla Betta,
John Tauber,
David R. Schreier,
Emily P. Stephen,
Matthew A. Wilson,
Emery N. Brown

Affiliations

Francisco J. Flores: Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit St, Boston, 02114, MA, USA; Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139, MA, USA; Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139, MA, USA; Corresponding author at: Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit St, Boston, 02114, MA, USA.
Isabella Dalla Betta: Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit St, Boston, 02114, MA, USA; Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139, MA, USA
John Tauber: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Boston University, 665 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, 02215, MA, USA
David R. Schreier: Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit St, Boston, 02114, MA, USA; Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139, MA, USA; Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 101 Merrimac St, Boston, 02114, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital and University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 16, Bern, 3010, Switzerland
Emily P. Stephen: Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Boston University, 665 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, 02215, MA, USA
Matthew A. Wilson: Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139, MA, USA; Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139, MA, USA
Emery N. Brown: Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 55 Fruit St, Boston, 02114, MA, USA; Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139, MA, USA; Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 43 Vassar St, Cambridge, 02139, MA, USA; Institute for Medical Engineering and Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 45 Carleton St, Cambridge, 02142, MA, USA

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 17, no. 5
pp. 975 – 979

Abstract

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Background:: Deep brain stimulation of the central thalamus (CT-DBS) has potential for modulating states of consciousness, but it can also trigger electrographic seizures, including poly-spike-wave trains (PSWT). Objectives:: To report the probability of inducing PSWTs during CT-DBS in awake, freely-moving mice. Methods:: Mice were implanted with electrodes to deliver unilateral and bilateral CT-DBS at different frequencies while recording electroencephalogram (EEG). We titrated stimulation current by gradually increasing it at each frequency until a PSWT appeared. Subsequent stimulations to test arousal modulation were performed at the current one step below the current that caused a PSWT during titration. Results:: In 2.21% of the test stimulations (10 out of 12 mice), CT-DBS caused PSWTs at currents lower than the titrated current, including currents as low as 20 μA. Conclusion:: Our study found a small but significant probability of inducing PSWTs even after titration and at relatively low currents. EEG should be closely monitored for electrographic seizures when performing CT-DBS in both research and clinical settings.

Published in Brain Stimulation

ISSN: 1935-861X (Print); 1876-4754 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/brain-stimulation

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