Neuromodulation: Deep Brain Stimulation

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical procedure used to treat various neurological disorders such as intractable pain, Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, dystonia, and other movement disorders. It involves implanting electrodes in the brain, which send electrical impulses to modulate brain activity. This procedure is not considered radical and can significantly improve disabling neurological symptoms. Such symptoms used to commonly require invasive surgeries such as thalamotomy and pallidotomy, which destroy those parts of the brain where abnormal activity has occurred. In recent years, such surgeries have been performed less frequently because of the risk of severe complications and the availability of DBS, which is safer and has fewer complications. Deep brain stimulation allows abnormal brain activity to be regulated without destruction of brain tissue. This means that DBS offers numerous advantages over conventional surgeries as it is reversible and enables the surgeon to modulate and improve specific functions or symptoms. Despite DBS having become widely accepted as an effective therapy for various neurological disorders, its fundamental principles and mechanisms are still not precisely defined.