Issue Archive

Subthalamic nucleus: from circuits, functions to a deep brain stimulation target for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease

LI Guang-Ying, ZHUANG Qian-Xing, Li Bin, WANG Jian-Jun, ZHU Jing-Ning

State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology and School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China

Abstract

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is the only excitatory glutamatergic nucleus in the basal ganglia circuitry. It not only is a key node in the classical indirect pathway, but also forms the “hyperdirect” pathway directly connecting the cortex, and even is implicated as a pacemaker for activity of whole basal ganglia. Due to the key position of STN in the basal ganglia circuitry, the STN is an optimal target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the neurosurgical treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the therapeutic mechanisms underlying the amelioration of parkinsonian motor dysfunctions induced by DBS on STN remain enigmatic. This paper reviews recent progresses in the studies on the input-output configurations and functions of STN in the basal ganglia circuitry, and summarizes the hypotheses for mechanisms of DBS for the treatment of motor dysfunctions in PD. Studying on the DBS mechanisms will not only help to develop strategies for treatment of PD, but also contribute to the understanding of functions of the basal ganglia circuitry.

Key words: subthalamic nucleus; basal ganglia ; motor control ; deep brain stimulation ; Parkinson’s disease ; motor dysfunctions

Received: 2017-05-16　　Accepted: 2017-09-12

Corresponding author: 朱景宁　　E-mail: jnzhu@nju.edu.cn

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2017.0066

Citing This Article：

LI Guang-Ying, ZHUANG Qian-Xing, Li Bin, WANG Jian-Jun, ZHU Jing-Ning. Subthalamic nucleus: from circuits, functions to a deep brain stimulation target for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Acta Physiol Sin 2017; 69 (5): 611-622 (in Chinese with English abstract).