Toward a sensorimotor gating network

• Applicant: Dr. Sina Kohl
• Subject Area: Biological Psychiatry ; Experimental and Theoretical Network Neuroscience ; Clinical Neurology; Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 513006151

Deep brain stimulation is an effective neuromodulative treatment for various diseases and shows high promise for obsessive-compulsive disorder, yielding in improvements of obsessions, compulsions and quality of life. Deep brain stimulation involves stereotactic implantation of electrodes in deep structures of the brain. The electrodes deliver weak electric pulses and thereby modulate neural tissue at the target structure as well as surrounding and connected areas. However, it is still not considered a fully-established therapy and inter individual differences in treatment response are high while predicting factors are widely unknown, therefore treatment remains uniform, one target fits all.But the versatile clinical presentation of obsessive-compulsive disorder that is frequently accompanied by comorbidities such as mood, anxiety and tic disorders, suggests individual differences in network pathologies across patients. Thus, it is crucial to understand the contribution of specific networks to the clinical phenotype to tailor treatment targets to individual patients instead of using a one-fits-all approach. The current proposal focusses on sensorimotor gating, a process of regulating sensory input and its transmission to motor output systems. We aim to define a functional network of sensorimotor gating in obsessive-compulsive disorder, by means of deep brain stimulation network mapping. This approach includes reconstruction of DBS electrodes, electric field modeling, defining functional connectivity maps, and cross-validating defined models. If successful, this grant will define and validate a network associated with modulation of sensory phenomena by deep brain stimulation. Such a finding would have direct clinical translational value for personalized neuromodulation in obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions.

• DFG Programme: WBP Fellowship
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Andreas Horn, Ph.D.