May 2005

News tips from The Journal of Neuroscience

Subthalamic Nucleus Stimulation in the Parkinsonian Rat
François Windels, Carole Carcenac, Annie Poupard, and Marc Savasta

Neurons in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) show increased neural activity in Parkinson's disease. Yet lesioning or high-frequency stimulation of the STN (HFSSTN) alleviates motor symptoms in parkinsonian patients. How does that work? In this week's Journal, Windels et al. approach the question by using microdialysis to monitor the effects of HFS-STN in hemiparkinsonian rats.