Sponsor: NIH

Grant #: RO1 NS113746

Project Description: This project is part of a collaboration with Emory University (Atlanta, GA). Recent studies have suggested that imbalanced activity between synaptic excitation and inhibition in the subthalamic nucleus contribute to parkinsonian motor signs in animal models of advanced parkinsonism. Using state-of-the-art physiologic and anatomical methods in monkeys, our collaborators at Emory will examine how the observed synaptic changes relate to the degree of dopamine loss and the severity of parkinsonism. As a corollary, our group at UMN will conduct a longitudinal study in people recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease using ultra-high-field MRI to study the extent to which changes in the connectivity of the subthalamic nucleus accompany the development of motor and non-motor signs of the disease in humans. Participants can elect to participate in a 7T MRI, movement testing in the Movement Disorders Lab, cognitive testing, and/or testing using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS, an FDA approved method of testing how the brain activates muscle activity).