Transient global amnesia associated with accidental high-frequency stimulation of the right hippocampus in deep brain stimulation for segmental dystonia.

Abstract

We report on a 66-year-old woman with segmental dystonia treated with chronic bilateral deep brain stimulation of the globus pallidus internus, in whom accidental high-voltage, high-frequency stimulation induced an episode of transient global amnesia (TGA) via an electrode contact which was misplaced in the right hippocampus. A possible mechanism underlying this TGA episode may have been the inhibition of local neuronal activity or fiber activation by high current density via direct electrical stimulation of hippocampal structures. While a unifying etiology of TGA has not been proven so far, our case demonstrates a possible link between focal electrical stimulation of hippocampal structures and the full clinical picture of the syndrome.

• Authors: Hansjörg Baezner, Christian Blahak, H Holger Capelle, Christoph Schrader, Götz Lütjens, Joachim K Krauss
• Journal: Stereotactic and functional neurosurgery (Stereotact Funct Neurosurg) Vol. 91 Issue 5 Pg. 335-7 ( 2013) ISSN: 1423-0372 [Electronic] Switzerland
• PMID: 23969701 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Topics

• Aged
• Amnesia, Retrograde (etiology, physiopathology)
• Amnesia, Transient Global (etiology, physiopathology)
• Deep Brain Stimulation (adverse effects, instrumentation)
• Dystonic Disorders (therapy)
• Electric Injuries (etiology, physiopathology, psychology)
• Electrodes, Implanted (adverse effects)
• Female
• Globus Pallidus (physiopathology)
• Hippocampus (injuries, pathology, physiopathology)
• Humans
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• Microelectrodes (adverse effects)