The goals of this project are 1) to determine the incidence of neurological voice disorders in patients with dystonia and essential tremor undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS), 2) investigate the neuroimaging and intracranial neurophysiology correlates of voice dysfunction in these subjects, and subsequently 3) determine the effects of DBS on voice function.
Loss of voice control, which is critical for conveying effective spoken communication, is often a significant feature in patients with movement disorders, such as dystonia and essential tremor. Voice dysfunction, however, has been overshadowed clinically by a focus on limb motor symptoms. For example, deep brain stimulation (DBS) effectively reduces limb dystonia and tremor in these patients, but the modulation of voice symptoms by DBS has been vastly understudied. It is assumed that the production and modulation of voice are regulated by the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical network in a loop architecture that is common to all motor behaviors. There is, however, little empirical data to inform our specific understanding of how voice function is encoded in basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical interactions. The overall goal of this research is to use a combination of invasive and non-invasive human neuroscience to improve our understanding of the incidence and neural correlates of neurological voice disorders (laryngeal dystonia and voice tremor) in patients with isolated dystonia and essential tremor undergoing DBS surgery. The investigators will use simultaneous electrocorticography (ECoG) and subcortical activity recording in dystonia and tremor patients who are awake and speaking during DBS implantation surgery. The results of this research will inform the development of strategies for closed-loop brain stimulation specifically to treat neurological voice dysfunction that can be tested in a subsequent clinical trial.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
Clinically indicated DBS treatment for dystonia or tremor with simultaneous research electrocorticography (ECoG).
Massachusetts General Hospital, University of California San Francisco, University of Utah
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
RECRUITINGCorrelations between brain signals and intraoperative voice and speech production performance.
Analysis of intraoperative recordings from deep basal ganglia structures and cortical regions relevant to voice and speech control.
Time frame: 5 years
Changes in standard clinical outcome for dystonia patients
Quantitative measures of voice and motor changes following deep brain stimulation surgery using standard clinical criterion of Burk-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale where higher score means a worse outcome.
Time frame: 5 years
Changes in standard clinical outcome for tremor patients
Quantitative measures of voice and motor changes following deep brain stimulation surgery using standard clinical criterion of Fahn-Tolosa-Marin Tremor Rating Scale where higher score means a worse outcome.
Time frame: 5 years
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