Scientific Recordings in Deep Brain Stimulation

The primary purpose of deep brain stimulation (DBS) is to treat a brain disorder by applying electrical stimulation to a specific part of the brain. There is typically a small window of time during or shortly after surgical implantation of the DBS electrodes in which electrophysiological signals from the DBS target can be recorded in awake humans while they are performing a task. This allows scientific investigations into the electrophysiological functioning of brain structures that are otherwise inaccessible using noninvasive imaging techniques. Although there are some drawbacks to DBS recordings, such as concerns of generalizability to nonclinical populations, there is also great scientific potential to elucidate fundamental electrophysiological mechanisms of neural information processing and transfer, with better spatial resolution and data signal quality than typically available in humans. This chapter provides an overview of the motivation, methods, advantages, limitations, and ethical issues involved in conducting scientific recordings in deep brain regions in DBS patients.