Music-listening During Deep Brain Stimulation to Relieve Anxiety

Deep Brain Stimulation, Movement Disorders

This study aims to demonstrate that music listening in patients undergoing awake deep brain stimulation reduces subjective and objective measures of anxiety. Furthermore, the investigators aim to demonstrate that music may alter neuronal firing patterns based on the type of music played and the location in the brain.

While conscious neurosurgical interventions are generally well-tolerated, they often cause some measure of pain and anxiety. Patients have been reported to suffer from recurring distressing recollections of, or dreams about, the surgery and other post-operative, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-like sequelae. High anxiety during surgery correlates with post-operative psychological disturbances. Notably, listening to music reduces anxiety in patients undergoing awake surgical procedures. Nonetheless, DBS is typically performed without music because ambient noise typically interferes with interpretation of neuronal recordings. Recording objective and subjective measures of stress during DBS provides a unique opportunity to determine the effect of music on intra-operative patient anxiety levels in patients listening to music compared to non-music listening control patients. The investigators hypothesize that playing music will improve intra-operative anxiety as measured by objective and subjective measures of stress, including blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol levels and anxiety questionnaires. Additionally, previous data in the investigator's lab has demonstrated that the subthalamic nucleus (STN) responds to melodic music by decreasing the average frequency of neuronal firing. The investigator's pilot study also suggests that STN and thalamic neurons respond differently to melodic music; the neurons in the STN increase synchrony of firing, while neurons in the thalamus decrease synchrony of firing over the course of the music clip. The investigators, therefore, aim to characterize the neuronal firing pattern changes in patients undergoing awake DBS procedures in greater detail, drawing from a larger sample size.

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