Electrically induced verbal perseveration: a striatal deafferentation model

Objective: The present study aimed to elucidate the neural correlates of the deafferentation cognitive model of verbal perseveration (VP) by analyzing the connectomics of the sites where electrical stimulation elicited VP during awake left glioma surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the anatomical sites that generated VP when electrically stimulated, in a series of 21 patients operated on while awake for a left glioma. Each stimulation point was manually located on the postoperative MRI and then registered to the Montreal Neurological Institute template. Connectomics of these sites were further analyzed using Tractotron and disconnectome maps.

Results: VP stimulation sites were located within the white matter surrounding the postero-superior head of the caudate nucleus, as well as within the white matter of the external capsule and the supero-lateral wall of the temporal horn of the ventricle. Furthermore, tractotron and disconnectome maps revealed the connectome of these...