Using Parkinson's Disease to Study the Role of the Substantia Nigra Pars Reticulata

Using Parkinson's Disease to Study the Role of the Substantia Nigra Pars Reticulata in Movement Initiation and Perception

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a movement disorder causing either uncontrolled movement, slowness of movement, slowness of initiation of movement or rigidity of muscles. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is the FDA-approved method for patients who no longer get effective treatment from the best available medication. The location in the brain where the electrode is placed during DBS surgery for PD is called the Subthalamic Nucleus or STN. This study aims to investigate another location in the brain, the Substantia nigra pars reticulata or SNr. The SNr is also known to be involved in motor control of muscles and may be involved in the process by which the initiation of movement occurs.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Parkinson's Disease

Detailed Description

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a movement disorder causing either uncontrolled movement, slowness of movement, slowness of initiation of movement or rigidity of muscles. One method of easing PD symptoms is the FDA-approved method of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for patients who no longer get effective treatment from the best available medication. The location in the brain where the electrode is placed during DBS surgery for PD is called the Subthalamic Nucleus or STN. During placement of the DBS electrode, the patient is awake and is asked to do motor tasks to determine the correct placement in the STN and proper functioning of the DBS electrode. This study aims to investigate another location in the brain, the Substantia nigra pars reticulata or SNr, during the normal placement of the DBS electrode. This location is also known to be involved in motor control of muscles and may be involved in the process by which the initiation of movement occurs. The path through the brain to the STN used for DBS surgery goes into the SNr but currently, no testing of the SNr is performed. We will conduct a simple and well documented visual motor test to document the patient's stimulus perception and motor intention both at rest and during neural stimulation of the SNr.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 14

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Colorado
    • Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80045
      • University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with Parkinson's disease who are candidates for Deep Brain Stimulation surgery.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease
• must be able to undergo awake surgery DBS
• must have unaided vision to view visual motor task

Exclusion Criteria:

• corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Activity of the SNr	Recording and evaluating brain activity from the SNr (Substantia Nigra Pars Reticulata) in Parkinson's disease patients while the patient is undergoing the visual motor testing during Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery.	Immediately during Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Colorado, Denver
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: John A Thompson, Ph.D., University of Colorado, Denver

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: July 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 22, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): February 22, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 12, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 13, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): August 15, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 2, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 31, 2023
• Last Verified: January 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Movement Disorders; Synucleinopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Parkinson Disease
• Other Study ID Numbers: 13-2965; Univeristy of Colorado (Other Grant/Funding Number: 230 0894)