There are a pressing and unmet need for effective therapies for freezing of gait (FOG) and other neurological gait disorders. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of a midbrain target known as the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) was proposed as a potential treatment based on its postulated involvement in locomotor control as part of the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR). However, DBS trials fell short of expectations, leading many clinicians to abandon this strategy. Here, we discuss the potential reasons for this failure and review recent clinical data along with preclinical optogenetics evidence to argue that another nearby nucleus, the cuneiform nucleus (CnF), may be a superior target.

中文翻译：

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解剖脑干运动回路：楔形核刺激的汇聚证据


对于冻结步态 (FOG) 和其他神经性步态障碍的有效疗法存在迫切且未得到满足的需求。被称为桥脚核 (PPN) 的中脑目标的深部脑刺激 (DBS) 被提议作为一种潜在的治疗方法，因为假定其作为中脑运动区 (MLR) 的一部分参与运动控制。然而，DBS 试验没有达到预期，导致许多临床医生放弃了这一策略。在这里，我们讨论了这种失败的潜在原因，并回顾了最近的临床数据以及临床前光遗传学证据，认为另一个附近的核，楔形核（CnF），可能是一个更好的目标。