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Updated: Jan 27, 2026

Controlling Parkinson's Disease With Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation
Published on: July 16, 2014
Cellular, molecular, and clinical mechanisms of action of deep brain stimulation-a systematic review on established
Martin Jakobs1,2, Anton Fomenko2, Andres M Lozano2
1Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany martin.jakobs@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
Abstract:
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been successfully used to treat movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, for more than 25 years and heralded the advent of electrical neuromodulation to treat diseases with dysregulated neuronal circuits. DBS is now superseding ablative techniques, such as stereotactic radiofrequency lesions. While serendipity has played a role in developing DBS as a therapy, research during the past two decades has shown that electrical neuromodulation is far more than a functional lesion that can be switched on and off. This understanding broadens the field to enable new types of stimulation, clinical indications, and research. This review highlights the complex effects of DBS from the single cell to the neuronal network. Specifically, we examine the electrical, cellular, molecular, and neurochemical mechanisms of DBS as applied to Parkinson's disease and other emerging applications.
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