A brief demonstration of frontostriatal connectivity in OCD patients with intracranial electrodes.
Authors: Smith EE, Schüller T, Huys D, Baldermann JC, Andrade P, Allen JJ, Visser-Vandewalle V, Ullsperger M, Gruendler TOJ, Kuhn J
Journal: NeuroImage
Deep brain stimulation
Functional connectivity EEG
LFP
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Ventral capsule
Ventral striatum
Corpus Striatum
Deep Brain Stimulation
Electrodes, Implanted
Female
Frontal Lobe
Humans
Male
Neural Pathways
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Abstract
Closed-loop neuromodulation is presumed to be the logical evolution for improving the effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment protocols (Widge et al., 2018). Identifying symptom-relevant biomarkers that provide meaningful feedback to stimulator devices is an important initial step in this direction. This report demonstrates a technique for assaying neural circuitry hypothesized to contribute to OCD and DBS treatment outcomes. We computed phase-lag connectivity between LFPs and EEGs in thirteen treatment-refractory OCD patients. Simultaneous recordings from scalp EEG and externalized DBS electrodes in the ventral capsule/ventral striatum (VC/VS) were collected at rest during the perioperative treatment stage. Connectivity strength between midfrontal EEG sensors and VC/VS electrodes correlated with baseline OCD symptoms and 12-month posttreatment OCD symptoms. Results are qualified by a relatively small sample size, and limitations regarding the conclusiveness of VS and mPFC as neural generators given some concerns about volume conduction. Nonetheless, findings are consistent with treatment-relevant tractography findings and theories that link frontostriatal hyperconnectivity to the etiopathogenesis of OCD. Findings support the continued investigation of connectivity-based assays for aiding in determination of optimal stimulation location, and are an initial step towards the identification of biomarkers that can guide closed-loop neuromodulation systems.