Microelectrode recording and stimulation in surgery for movement disorders

Intraoperative neuronal microrecordings and stimulation can help in localizing specific targets during stereotactic surgeries. This chapter describes our technique and experience in performing a) microelectrode recording and b) thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus, globus pallidus internus and subthalamic nucleus leisoning and deep brain stimulation cases. All patients suffered from medically refractory movement disorders. Microelectrode recording and stimulation by using platinium-iridium microelectrodes with 2-4 micron tips were utilized in 1,379 consecutive cases. The findings, the advantages, as well as the risks of microelectrode recording and our stimulation technique were evaluated. The clinical experience consists of 13,556 single microelectrode recording trajectories from 1,379 medically refractory movement disorder cases. Data were gathered from 2,227 anatomical sites; 125 thalamic, 532 pallidal, and 1,570 subthalamic areas. Results and their implications are discussed.