Sleep-specific DBS Therapy in Parkinson's Disease

Sleep-wake disturbances are a major factor associated with reduced quality of life of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD), a progressive neurological disorder affecting millions of people in the U.S and worldwide. This study will examine the sleep of people who are receiving Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) therapy for PD. DBS uses electrical fields to change the activity in a few structures deep in the brain, to improve motor (movement) symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). The DBS system includes a wire (the lead) that goes deep in the brain to deliver electricity and a battery pack (IPG) that controls the electricity that is delivered by the lead. Patients receiving this treatment may have a lead implanted on just one side of their brain (unilateral) or both sides (bilateral).

In this proposal, we will recruit people who have DBS systems with the electrical lead implanted in the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) or the subthalamic nucleus (STN). The GPi and STN are two parts of the brain that are commonly targeted in DBS therapy to treat PD symptoms. The site of lead implantation (GPi or STN) will be decided by their clinical team, as is standard-of-care. Participation in this study will have no impact on site selection (and in fact, site selection will take place before recruitment and enrollment in this study).

There are two separate studies in this proposal: an Aims 1 & 2 study, and an Aim 3 study.

All participants will be 21 years or older. All participants in Aims 1 & 2 may potentially be recruited for Aim 3, however enrollment in Aim 3 is not contingent upon enrollment in Aims 1 & 2.

Participants in both studies will have received a 7 Tesla MRI scan (either as part of their regular clinical treatment, or as part of a different study, run by Dr. Noam Harel), which is a very detailed image of the brain. Participants will be asked for their permission to use these images as research data for these studies.