Beauty and death of motion

Abstract

Translational research aims to apply what we learn in the lab to the patient’s care in the clinical setting. Animal studies for Parkinson’s disease and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) are particularly intriguing topics that show the value of translational research. Training a monkey to complete a task, inducing Parkinsonian symptoms, and comparing kinematic differences with various DBS settings is a transformative process of motion creation, death, and rebirth. The historical context of the drug used to induce Parkinsonian symptoms and DBS technology demonstrates how our field progresses from trial and error and evolves into enhancing patient care. We can use the same methods from animal studies to verify outcomes during a patient’s DBS surgery. The narrative of one monkey demonstrates the concepts of translational research, research ethics, and medical history.