Mapping Dysfunctional Circuits in the Frontal Cortex Using Deep Brain Stimulation.

Frontal circuits play a critical role in motor, cognitive, and affective processing - and their dysfunction may result in a variety of brain disorders. However, exactly which frontal domains mediate which (dys)function remains largely elusive. Here, we study 534 deep brain stimulation electrodes implanted to treat four different brain disorders. By analyzing which connections were modulated for optimal therapeutic response across these disorders, we segregate the frontal cortex into circuits that became dysfunctional in each of them. Dysfunctional circuits were topographically arranged from occipital to rostral, ranging from interconnections with sensorimotor cortices in dystonia, with the primary motor cortex in Tourette's syndrome, the supplementary motor area in Parkinson's disease, to ventromedial prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Our findings highlight the integration of deep brain stimulation with brain connectomics as a powerful tool to explore couplings between brain structure and functional impairment in the human brain.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of Competing Interests J.L.O. reports research grant support from Medtronic and Boston Scientific and is a consultant for Abbott, outside of the submitted work. M.M.R. reports grant support and honoraria for speaking from Medtronic and Boston Scientific, outside of the submitted work. J.V. reports grants and personal fees from Medtronic Inc., grants, and personal fees from Boston Scientific, personal fees from Abbott, outside of the submitted work. H.B. is consultant of Alpha-Omega, outside of the submitted work. S.C. is consultant for Medtronic and Boston Scientific, outside of the submitted work. A.H. is a consultant for FxNeuromodulation and Abbott, and reports lecture fees from Boston Scientific, outside of the submitted work. B.H., I.A.S., N.R., S.O., K.B., C.N., P.R., P.Z., M.P., H.A., M.V., C.Z., B.S., P.N., F.-C.Y., J.C.B., T.A.D., V.V.-V., E.J.L.A., P.R.F., C.F., A.A.K., P.N., D.D.D., R.M.R., M.R.D., A.M., L.M.R., H.T., L.Z., E.M.J., P.A.S., and N.L. report no competing interests.