Deep brain stimulation에 최적화된 위치는 어디인가

By accurately localizing electrode placement in the brains of patients, the researchers were able to identify a fiber tract which is associated with the best clinical outcomes following deep brain stimulation. 

A person with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) experiences unwanted thoughts and behaviors, the urge for which they find difficult or impossible to resist. More than 2 percent of people are affected by obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors which severely impair daily activities. A treatment option for severe cases is deep brain stimulation, a technique which is also used in other disorders, such as Parkinson's disease. Deep brain stimulation involves the implantation of tiny electrodes into structures deep inside the brain. After implantation, these electrodes deliver very weak electric currents to help rebalance brain activity. By stimulating different areas of the brain, such as a fiber tract within the internal capsule or the subthalamic nucleus, this technique can help improve clinical symptoms in some cases. Treatment success depends on the accurate placement of electrodes and requires millimeter-level precision. The optimal stimulation target for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorders had not previously been identified

For the first time, a team of researchers—led by Dr. Andreas Horn of Charité's Department of Neurology with Experimental Neurology—has been able to identify a specific nerve bundle which appears to be the optimal target for stimulation.

These brain structures have a variety of connections to other areas of the brain. And yet, a specific tract situated between the prefrontal cortex and the subthalamic nucleus was identified as a suitable target for stimulation in both of these groups

Our results do not alter the original target area, they simply helped us to define it more precisely. 

 

reference

 Ningfei Li et al, A unified connectomic target for deep brain stimulation in obsessive-compulsive disorder, Nature Communications (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16734-3