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Updated: Mar 9, 2026
Analysis of Gene Expression Changes in the Rat Hippocampus After Deep Brain Stimulation of the Anterior Thalamic Nucleus
Published on: March 8, 2015
Deep brain stimulation of a patient with psychogenic movement disorder
Jean-Philippe Langevin1, Jesse M Skoch2, Scott J Sherman3
1Neurosurgery, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Background:
The long-term safety of deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an important issue because new applications are being investigated for a variety of disorders. Studying instances where DBS was inadvertently implanted in patients without a movement disorder may provide information about the safety of the therapy. We report the case of a patient with a psychogenic movement disorder treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS).
Case Description:
The patient presented at our clinic after 5 years of chronic DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) for presumed Parkinson's disease. A dopamine transporter (DAT) scan (DaTscan) showed normal DAT distribution in the striatum. A positron emission tomography (PET) scan showed no abnormal metabolic patterns. Further psychiatric and neurological evaluations revealed that the patient was suffering from a psychogenic movement disorder. The patient displayed no sign or symptom from the stimulation, and DBS did not lead to any benefits or side effects for this patient.
Conclusion:
We argue that the absence of side effects, the normal DaTscan, and PET scan after 5 years of chronic stimulation illustrate the safety of DBS on neural tissue.
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