Understanding Brain Activity in Parkinson's Disease to Improve Movement
Identifying Circuit Dynamics Underlying Motor Dysfunction in Parkinsons Disease Using Real-Time Neural Control
This project aims to understand how specific brain activity causes movement problems in Parkinson's disease, which could lead to more personalized treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cleveland Clinic Lerner Com-Cwru NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cleveland, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11139502 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
For many years, we've known that certain brain waves, called beta oscillations, in a part of the brain called the subthalamic nucleus, are linked to movement difficulties like slowness and stiffness in Parkinson's disease. While current treatments like medication or deep brain stimulation (DBS) can change these brain waves and improve symptoms, we don't fully understand if these brain waves directly cause the movement issues or are just a side effect. This project is developing a new tool, called evoked interference closed-loop DBS (eiDBS), to precisely control these brain waves in real-time. By carefully increasing or decreasing these beta oscillations, we hope to see how they directly affect movement symptoms, helping us understand the root cause of these problems.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Patients with Parkinson's disease who experience movement difficulties like slowness and stiffness, and who may be candidates for or already receive deep brain stimulation, could be relevant to this research.
Not a fit: Patients without Parkinson's disease or those whose symptoms are not related to the specific brain activity being studied may not directly benefit from this particular research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to a deeper understanding of Parkinson's disease and help develop more precise and personalized deep brain stimulation therapies for patients.
How similar studies have performed: While previous studies have shown a correlation between specific brain waves and Parkinson's symptoms, this project aims to establish a novel causal link using new neural control tools.
Where this research is happening
Cleveland, United States
- Cleveland Clinic Lerner Com-Cwru — Cleveland, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Escobar Sanabria, David — Cleveland Clinic Lerner Com-Cwru
- Study coordinator: Escobar Sanabria, David
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.