The basal ganglia (BG) are a set of subcortical nuclei that play a crucial role in the control of voluntary movements. Their importance is underscored by diseases of the BG, such as Parkinson's disease, which compromise the initiation and execution of voluntary movements. While much is known about the general organization of the BG, fundamental questions remain about their role in the normal control of movement. These questions are particularly relevant given the renewed interest in restorative neurosurgical procedures, such as chronic electrical stimulation. that target the BG to relieve Parkinsonian symptoms. The main goal of this is to understand the role of the BG in the normal control of movement, using the awake behaving macaque monkey as an experimental system.
The first aim addresses an intriguing paradox about the BG: while diseases affecting the BG cause problems with initiating voluntary movements, most neurophysiological studies have found that neuronal activity in the BG occurs too late to play a role in movement initiation. However, in most of these studies the movements were in response to an external sensory stimulus. There is evidence from Parkinsonian patients that stimulus-cued movements are less severely affected than self-initiated movements. We will thus examine whether the BG play a special role in self-initiated movements - self-initiated with respect to either when a movement is made or which movement is made.
The second aim addresses the roles of the direct and indirect BG pathways. The output of the BG is influenced by two distinct pathways with opposing effects on movement: a direct pathway from the striatum which facilitates movement, and an indirect pathway via the subthalamic nucleus (STN) which inhibits movement. While the identification of these pathways has provided a useful framework for understanding movement disorders, many questions remain about their roles in normal movement. We will test one hypothesis, that the two pathways may act in concert to """"""""select"""""""" a specific movement among competing possibilities of movement, by examining how neurons in the output nuclei of the BG are affected by electrical inactivation of the STN. For this purpose, it will be necessary to examine the neuronal effects of electrical stimulation in the STN. Little is known about the neuronal effects, even though STN stimulation is now being used to treat Parkinsonian symptoms in human patients. We will directly measure the neuronal effects of electrical stimulation in the STN, and examine how these effects vary with the parameters of stimulation. For this we will develop and test new multielectrode techniques for recording from and electrically stimulating multiple deep brain sites simultaneously. The combined basic studies and technical innovations will increase our understanding of the role of the BG in normal movement and movement disorders, and will hopefully provide new approaches for treating Parkinsonian conditions.
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