STN-DBS Increases Proactive but Not Retroactive Interference During Verbal Learning in PD

Dejan Georgiev; Sanja Roškar; Anja Čuš; Leonora Wilkinson; Marjan Jahanshahi

doi:10.1002/mds.28423

STN-DBS Increases Proactive but Not Retroactive Interference During Verbal Learning in PD

Mov Disord. 2021 Apr;36(4):1010-1015. doi: 10.1002/mds.28423. Epub 2020 Dec 17.

Authors

Dejan Georgiev^{1

2

3}, Sanja Roškar¹, Anja Čuš², Leonora Wilkinson¹, Marjan Jahanshahi^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.
² Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
³ Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Faculty of Computer and Information Science, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
⁴ The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.

PMID: 33332646
DOI: 10.1002/mds.28423

Abstract

Background: Proactive interference (PI) refers to the interference of previously learned materials with new learning and reflects the failure of inhibitory processes in memory. Retroactive interference (RI) refers to the unfavorable effect of new learning on the later recall of previously learned information. Although subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) does not affect global cognition in Parkinson's disease (PD), it has negative effects on specific aspects of cognition, including verbal fluency and executive inhibitory control of action.To this end, we set to test the acute effect of STN-DBS on PI and RI during verbal learning.

Methods: Twenty PD patients with STN-DBS were tested on the California Verbal Learning Test-II using an ON/OFF stimulation design.

Results: The results showed that stimulation increased PI ON stimulation (P = 0.012) but had no effect on RI (P = 0.816).

Conclusions: Our results extend the role of STN to the inhibitory control that is required during memory encoding or recall for prevention of PI. © 2020 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Keywords: deep brain stimulation; subthalamic nucleus; Parkinson's disease; verbal learning; proactive interference; retroactive interference.

MeSH terms

Deep Brain Stimulation*
Humans
Memory
Parkinson Disease* / complications
Parkinson Disease* / therapy
Subthalamic Nucleus*
Verbal Learning