# Deep Brain Stimulation in Laryngeal Dystonia and Voice Tremor

> **NIH NIH P50** · MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY · 2022 · $648,400

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT
 Loss of voice control, which is critical for conveying effective spoken communication, is often a significant
feature in patients with movement disorders, such as dystonia and essential tremor. Voice dysfunction,
however, has been overshadowed clinically by a focus on limb motor symptoms. For example, deep brain
stimulation (DBS) effectively reduces limb dystonia and tremor in these patients, but the modulation of voice
symptoms by DBS has been vastly understudied. It is assumed that the production and modulation of voice are
regulated by the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical network in a loop architecture that is common to all motor
behaviors. There is, however, little empirical data to inform our specific understanding of how voice function is
encoded in basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical interactions. The overall goal of this Project is to use a
combination of invasive and non-invasive human neuroscience to improve our understanding of the
incidence and neural correlates of neurological voice disorders (laryngeal dystonia and voice tremor)
in patients with isolated dystonia and essential tremor undergoing DBS surgery. We will use
simultaneous electrocorticography (ECoG) and subcortical activity recording in dystonia and tremor patients
who are awake and speaking during DBS implantation surgery. We will supplement these data with non-
invasive, multimodal scalp magneto/electroencephalography (M/EEG) and functional MRI (fMRI) recordings
before DBS surgery and longitudinal M/EEG recordings within one year after surgery to enhance our
understanding of DBS-induced neural network modulation relevant to voice motor symptoms in dystonia and
tremor patients. This work will be facilitated by the fact that all participating Center sites already use the same
equipment and techniques for DBS implantation and will follow standardized experimental protocols. The
disorder-specific intracranial neurophysiological signatures will be correlated with non-invasive imaging
findings, stimulation location defined connectivity maps, and voice outcomes. The results of this Project will
inform the development of strategies for closed-loop brain stimulation specifically to treat neurological voice
dysfunction that can be tested in a subsequent clinical trial.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10488256
- **Project number:** 5P50DC019900-02
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kristina Simonyan
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $648,400
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-15 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10488256

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10488256, Deep Brain Stimulation in Laryngeal Dystonia and Voice Tremor (5P50DC019900-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10488256. Licensed CC0.

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