Deep Brain Stimulation Is a Technique Used to Help People

Essay

Deep brain stimulation is a technique used to help people with different diseases, including Parkinson's. People with Parkinson's disease have difficulties with movement due to a decrease in dopaminergic input to the basal ganglia. For Parkinson's patients the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is stimulated and this relieves some of the symptoms associated with the disease. However, it is not clear if stimulation of the nucleus stimulates neurons within the STN, or inputs to the STN (from the cortex). Outline an experiment in a mouse that could look at the difference between activation of the STN and activation of inputs to the STN.
Behavioral Analyses