How Do Interconnected Neuronal Networks Adjust to External Stimulation: Parametric Studies of DBS-FMRI

Abstract

The use of intracranial electrical microstimulation for the treatment of neurologic and psychiatric disorders, as well as in neural prosthesis, has experienced an exponential growth in the last decade. Despite this spectacular expansion and the great promise of some applications, little is known about the precise neurobiological mechanisms underlying its actions, the rules governing activity propagation during stimulation and the probable roles obeyed by short and long-term plasticity processes in the synapses being activated. We combine deep brain electric microstimulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate local and brain-wide functional networks activated by different sets of stimulation parameters that produced distinct behavioral effects.