isrctn.org Identifier: ISRCTN23255677.

Little is known about the underlying neural mechanism of deep brain stimulation (DBS). We found that DBS targeted at the nucleus accumbens (NAc) normalized NAc activity, reduced excessive connectivity between the NAc and prefrontal cortex, and decreased frontal low-frequency oscillations during symptom provocation in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Our findings suggest that DBS is able to reduce maladaptive activity and connectivity of the stimulated region.

trialregister.nl Identifier: NTR2118.

This study supports the idea of compulsivity with common circuitry in the processing of diverse rewards and suggests that deep brain stimulation of the nucleus accumbens could be a possible treatment of patients with a dependency not responding to currently available treatments.