Brainmap: Alik Widge, MD, PhD- Deep Brain Stimulation for Mood and Anxiety Disorders: Progress, Challenges, and Possible Solutions

Tuesday, October 4, 2016 - 12:00 to 13:00

 

Abstract

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been highly effective in the treatment of movement disorders, and has undergone multiple clinical trials in psychiatric disorders. There have been promising early results in major depression (MDD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but blinded and randomized trials have not reliably shown a signal. Even in successful trials, a third or more of patients do not respond at all. Part of the problem is that we apply DBS at anatomically defined targets, without a clear understanding of how it affects brain function or how that might map to response or adverse effects. I will overview the state of our knowledge, then present early results from electroencephalography (EEG) studies seeking to map those mechanisms at the level of cortical oscillations. We have identified a possible mechanism of action that modulates a fronto-cingulate network involved in top-down control. The other major question is whether traditional psychiatric diagnoses (based on symptom checklists) are the right way to define a DBS-eligible population. I will present early results from TRANSFORM DBS, an MGH-led effort to deliver DBS targeting functional domains and their underlying neural circuits.

 

About the Speaker

Read more about Dr. Widge's research and interests here http://scholar.harvard.edu/awidge/biocv