Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Deep Brain Stimulation

Deep brain stimulation represents a neurosurgical treatment option for specific refractory neurological and psychiatric disorders. In these patients a specific brain target is stimulated through an electrode with the use of an implantable pulse generator (IPG). In a functional MRI (fMRI) experiment, the investigators intend to perform imaging during stimulation ON and compare brain activations with the stimulation OFF condition. In this way, they aim to elucidate the involved brain network in deep brain stimulation. Since the connectivity of deep brain structures is complex, different activation patterns are expected in-between subjects and conditions. If specific activation patterns during the stimulation ON condition can be related to treatment response, this is of important clinical value. These findings can lead to an optimization of the deep brain target or even to different useful targets for brain stimulation.