Effects of thalamic and basal ganglia deep brain stimulation on language-related functions – Conceptual and clinical considerations. (March 2022) - Klostermann, Fabian
Abstract: Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a therapy for various neurological movement disorders. It acts predominantly on motor symptoms, but may unfold a number of mostly subtle cognitive effects. In this regard, reports on particular language-related DBS sequels are comparably frequent, but difficult to overlook, given the heterogeneity of targeted structures in the brain, treated diseases, assessment methods and results reported. Accordingly, available knowledge was organized with respect to important aspects, such as the main DBS loci and surgical versus neuromodulatory therapy actions. Current views of biolinguistic underpinnings of the reviewed data, their clinical relevance and potential implications are discussed. Highlights: DBS effects on language functions are frequent in adult patients. They are mostly subtle and differ between DBS targets. They are composed of variable neuromodulatory and negative surgical DBS effects. Knowledge on language-related DBS effects in children is missing. Pediatric DBS research should address the conjunction of motor, cognitive, and language development.