Research Profile

Deep brain stimulation (DBS), the chronic high-frequency electrical stimulation of subcortical brain structures, is an effective treatment for several medically refractory neurological disorders.

DBS is an established therapy for essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, and dystonia, and each year improves the lives of more than 40,000 patients worldwide. DBS also shows promise in the treatment of epilepsy, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, and depression. However, the clinical successes of DBS are tempered by limited understanding of the effects of such stimulation on the nervous system, and scientific definition of the therapeutic mechanisms of DBS remains elusive.

It is also presently unclear what electrode designs and stimulation parameters are optimal for maximum therapeutic benefit and minimal side effects. The focus of our laboratory is to couple results from functional imaging, neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, and neurostimulation modeling to enhance our understanding of the effects of DBS. We combine results from human and animal experiments with detailed computer models of DBS. The computer models are parameterized by the experimental work and subsequently used to develop new experimental hypotheses, thereby creating a synergistic relationship of simulation and experimentation.

We then use our growing knowledge on the therapeutic mechanisms of DBS to better engineer the next generation of DBS devices. We hope to improve DBS for the treatment of movement disorders and provide the fundamental technology necessary for the effective application of DBS to new clinical arenas.