Decreased bladder contraction interval induced by periaqueductal grey stimulation is reversed by subthalamic stimulation in a Parkinson’s disease model rat

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) regulates bladder contractions via the periaqueductal grey (PAG). Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) modulates urinary afferent information from PAG in Parkinson’s disease (PD). We do not know how STN-DBS modulates the activities of mPFC induced by PAG stimulation. We aim to clarify how STN-DBS modulates the neuronal activity of mPFC induced by PAG stimulation and its effects on bladder contraction Experiments were conducted under urethane anesthesia in normal (n = 9) and 6-hydroxydopamine hemi-lesioned PD rats (n = 7). Left-sided PAG stimulation and STN-DBS were applied with simultaneous bladder contraction monitoring. Local field potential (LFP) recording and collection of extracellular fluid in the mPFC were performed before stimulation, during PAG stimulation, during PAG+STN stimulation, and after stimulation. The bladder inter-contraction intervals significantly decreased with PAG stimulation with a concomitant decrease in mPFC LFP power in PD rats. Adding STN stimulation to PAG stimulation significantly increased the bladder inter-contraction intervals with a concomitant increase in mPFC LFP power in PD rats. Several mPFC catecholamine levels were modulated by PAG or PAG+STN stimulation in PD rats. The present study revealed that STN-DBS modulate the activities of mPFC induced by PAG, thereby leading to normalization of bladder contraction.