Neurosurgeon Robert Buchanan, MD, leads as chief of neurosurgery as well as director of epilepsy surgery and deep brain stimulation at the Seton Brain & Spine Institute in Austin, Texas. In this role, Dr. Robert Buchanan treats patients with Parkinson's disease and a variety of other movement disorders.

1. DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION - HOW IT
WORKS
Robert Buchanan MD

2. INTRODUCTION
 Neurosurgeon Robert Buchanan, MD, leads as chief of
neurosurgery as well as director of epilepsy surgery and
deep brain stimulation at the Seton Brain & Spine Institute
in Austin, Texas. In this role, Dr. Robert Buchanan treats
patients with Parkinson's disease and a variety of other
movement disorders.
A surgically based intervention, deep brain stimulation
uses a three-part electrical signal delivery system to
control the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The
disease manifests externally as tremor, stiffness, and
other abnormalities of movement, which result from
abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Deep brain
stimulation works by blocking these abnormal signals.

3. DEEP BRAIN STIMULATION
 The treatment requires the surgical team to
introduce an electrode into the brain, where it
transmits impulses directly to a point identified
as the likely source of symptoms. The surgical
team locates this point before the surgery using
computed topography (CT) scanning or
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which
provide visual representation of brain activity. In
some cases, surgeons will employ
microelectrode recording techniques to verify
and further specify the part of the brain that is
causing disease symptoms.

4. CONCLUSION
 The surgical team places the electrode within the
identified area and connects it to an extension wire.
This wire links the electrode lead to a
neurostimulator, also known as a battery pack, which
surgeons affix under the skin in the patient's torso. A
computer programs the neurostimulator to generate
particular sequences of pulses, and the patient
receives a control that lets him or her turn signaling
on or off.
Care teams typically combine deep brain stimulation
with a medication regimen. After a few months, a
carefully struck balance often provides symptom relief
and improves everyday function.