Mental problems and diseases have always gained attraction. These were first observed in ancient Mesopotamia, yet, the human civilization does not know why these happen. Well-known diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, and bipolar disease, all come from the change of brain condition. Although there are hardly any well-known treatments or surgeries to cure mental problems, there is a medical treatment called deep brain stimulation.

▲ Parkinson surgery

Deep brain stimulation is a procedure of implanting a medical device called a neurostimulator which sends electric impulses to a specific part of the brain known to cause disorders to cure specific diseases. It was first introduced in 1952 by Delgado et al., and it is widely known as the cure for some symptoms of Parkinson's disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and dystonia. However, it also has some adverse effects. Major complications include hemorrhage and infection which are heavily based on the experience of a surgical team. Also, the brain can shift slightly during the surgery, which results in personality change, although it can be easily identified using a CT scan. Moreover, it is shown to be effective on curing Parkinson's disease while not working so well on curing OCD and Tourette syndrome.

▲ Various types of neurostimulators

To increase the efficiency and the success rate of deep brain stimulation, knowing how each zone of the brain functions and communicates is essential Many researches are ongoing by using EEG, which records the electrical activity of the brain, but it is known to have limits in knowing the deep brain activity from outside the skull. Also, the current method of curing mental disorders which is implanting a medical device into the center of the brain is invasive and can cause a lot of side effects. Finding out how to lessen the side effects and risks of major surgery is necessary in order to dramatically increase the standard of life of the patients.

▲ EEG

April 27th, 2019

by Minsu Chung