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Viviana Gradinaru
Neurosciences
Bio-X SIGF Fellow 2008
Profs. Karl Deisseroth (Bioengineering, Psychiatry) and Jaimie Henderson (Neurosurgery)
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a powerful therapeutic option for intractable movement and affective disorders (Parkinson's disease, tremor, depression). However, due to the nonspecificity of electrical stimulation, DBS has variable efficacy and can lead to serious side effects, such as speech impairment or paresis. Viviana’s research uses precise bioengineering tools to address a critical question in the neurosurgery field: how does DBS exert its therapeutic effects? By using a cell-type specific optical deep brain stimulator developed in the Deisseroth lab, her research investigates the role of specific cell types in PD pathology. These findings could be used to improve the parameters for electrode placement and stimulation in patients. |
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