Abstract
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a powerful therapeutic option for intractable movement (e.g., Parkinson disease (PD), tremor, dystonia, and Tourette syndrome) and psychiatric disorders (e.g., major depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder). When applied to PD patients, the benefits of DBS are immediate and dramatic, manifesting as improved motor function. However, due to the nonspecificity of electrical stimulation, DBS has variable efficacy. This aspect can also evoke unwanted side effects. The mechanisms underlying the effects of DBS are still debated intensely and there is tremendous interest from both basic neuroscience and clinical communities to better understand DBS, in order to maximize therapeutic benefits. An emerging technology, optogenetics, allows scientists to directly and specifically control the activity of distinct cell-types with high temporal precision in well-defined brain regions, thereby overcoming the lack of neural specificity inherent to electrical stimulation. This chapter reviews the background and recent work related to optogenetic applications for investigating DBS's therapeutic mechanisms of action in the context of movement disorders such as PD.
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