Past, Present and Future of Brain Stimulation

Abstract

Abstract. Recent technological advances including brain imaging (higher resolution in space and time), miniaturization of integrated circuits (nanotechnologies), and acceleration of computation speed (Moore's Law), combined with interpenetration between neuroscience, mathematics, and physics have led to the development of more biologically plausible computational models and novel therapeutic strategies. Today, mathematical models of irreversible medical conditions such as Parkinson's disease (PD) are developed and parameterised based on clinical data. How do these evolutions have a bearing on deep brain stimulation (DBS) of patients with PD? We review how the idea of DBS, a standard therapeutic strategy used to attenuate neurological symptoms (motor, psychiatric), has emerged from past experimental and clinical observations, and present how, over the last decade, computational models based on different approaches (phase oscillator models, spiking neuron network models, population-based models) have started to shed light onto DBS mechanisms. Finally, we explore a new mathematical modelling approach based on neural field equations to optimize mechanisms of brain stimulation and achieve finer control of targeted neuronal populations. We conclude that neuroscience and mathematics are crucial partners in exploring brain stimulation and this partnership should also include other domains such as signal processing, control theory and ethics.

Quantitative Neuroscience: From Chalk Board to Bedside

“…Clearly there is still much more to do before we can develop therapeutic devices where "both the cortex and the stimulator speak the same language" [4,6,14,18,20,22]. However, the articles in this issue suggest that there is good reason for quantitative neuroscientists to share of the hope of patients that a better life is just around the corner.…”

“…Brain-computer interfaces now make it possible to translate thought into action [6,7,8,15], replace lost limbs with robotic ones [9], prevent epileptic seizures [11,16] and even to alleviate the symptoms of neuro-degenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's [14]. Is it possible to do even better?…”

“…For example, how should experimental protocols be designed to best optimize methods to estimate parameters [3]? An even more vexing question concerns the choice of the appropriate mesoscopic scale [14], i.e. the length scale at which one can approximate the statistical properties of the whole neural population without having to take into account the detailed properties of each of neuron.…”

Model-driven therapeutic treatment of neurological disorders: reshaping brain rhythms with neuromodulation

“…Another recent work has investigated the possibility to stimulate the primary motor cortex in PD using a closed-loop stimulation method [46,69]. The aim of this work was to control neural activity both in time and space, while only impacting a targeted frequency band (such as 10 Hz; figure 1) of neural activity.…”

Synchronization of period-doubling oscillations in vascular coupled nephrons

“…Patients who cannot be treated through medication may often be helped by deep brain electrical stimulation designed to de-synchronize the cellular dynamics 5 or by selective modulation of brain rhythms by means of multi-electrode arrays. 6 As another example, Kronenberg et al 7 have demonstrated how the characteristic variations in blood flow and body temperature observed during menopausal hot flashes are a)…”