Apathy in Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a movement disorder related to pathology in parallel basal ganglia systems for motor and motivational control. Though subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) is highly effective for motor symptoms, PD patients with STN DBS frequently suffer from an increase in apathy. Here, we use diffusion tractography to model white matter connections in patients to examine the relationship between stimulation location and apathy following STN DBS for PD.