Transient Acute Depression Induced by High-Frequency Deep-Brain Stimulation

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Abstract
Continuous high-frequency stimulation of the basal ganglia was recently introduced for the treatment of patients with advanced Parkinson's disease.1 This treatment seems to be most effective when the electrodes are placed in the subthalamic nuclei.2,3 Among the 20 patients treated successfully by bilateral subthalamic stimulation at our center, 1 woman had transient acute depression when high-frequency stimulation was delivered to the left substantia nigra, 2 mm below the site where stimulation alleviated the signs of Parkinson's disease. We describe here the results of detailed studies of the induction of major, reversible depression in this woman.