# Circuit-based deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2021 · $2,286,881

## Abstract

The overall goal of the University of Minnesota (UMN) Udall Center is to develop novel, circuit based deep
brain stimulation (DBS) therapies for Parkinson’s disease (PD) based on an understanding of the changes
in pathophysiological activity patterns that occur in basal ganglia thalamocortical-brainstem (BGTC-B) pathways.
Project 1 (human) will characterize the role of oscillatory activity, coupling and connectivity across the broader
BGTC network, including the subthalamic nucleus (STN), globus pallidus internus (GPi), sensory, motor,
premotor and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices. These recordings will be performed at rest and during cognitive-
motor tasks, with and without therapeutic interventions (DBS, L-dopa, DBS+L-dopa). It will also clarify the relative
effect of stimulation in different functional subregions of the STN and GPi on motor and cognitive function.
Project 2 (human) will explore the mechanisms and effects of pallidal DBS on levodopa resistant motor signs
using MRI-derived computational models and fMRI to examine the pathways mediating these changes. It will
use new sensing technology (Percept) to identify and correlate the physiological changes in the GP to worsening
of, or improvement in, gait dysfunction. Project 3 (non-human primate) will examine the electrophysiological
changes in pallido↔peduncular, pallido→intralaminar, and pallido→habenular activity that are related to
cognitive-motor symptoms providing further network-level insights into cognitive motor gait impairments, task
shifting difficulties, and loss of motivation, which will complement the results from the human studies in Projects
1 and 2. All center components have synergistic interactions with the Catalyst Project, which will support
research efforts of a promising Early Stage Investigator who will use a novel closed-loop DBS approach to probe
circuit dynamics in PD patients and their relationship to PD motor signs. The Imaging Core will acquire state-
of-the-art, high-field structural MRI as well as rest and task-based fMRI for PD patients in Projects 1 and 2 (using
7T scanner) and structural MRI for the NHPs in Project 3 (using the first of its kind 10.5T scanner).The Clinical
Core will obtain clinical and quantitative motor and neuropsychological assessments that will be correlated to
physiological data obtained acutely in the operating room, subacutely in patients with externalized DBS leads
and electrocorticography arrays, and chronically through postoperative recordings using Percept. The
Biostatistics Core will provide overall data management, quality control, statistical and machine learning
analysis and data entry into the NINDS Data Management Resource. The Administrative Core will orchestrate
all aspects of the UMN Udall Center, implement and support patient education and public outreach efforts, and
develop and monitor individualized career enhancement plans for the next generation of PD researchers.
Together, these approaches will provide critica...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10282956
- **Project number:** 1P50NS123109-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Jerrold L Vitek
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $2,286,881
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-17 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10282956

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10282956, Circuit-based deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease (1P50NS123109-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10282956. Licensed CC0.

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