Deep Brain Stimulation
Abstract
Since the discovery of localized activation of the motor cortex in the late 19th century, electrical manipulation of the brain has frequently been the focus of scientific investigations. Following the revelation of the electrical properties of the motor cortex, subsequent mapping of cortical function was completed. This was followed in the 1950s, by the identification of deep structures of the brain via intraoperative stimulation. Theories of treating neurologic disorders with chronic stimulation began to emerge over the proceeding decade. By the 1970s, documentation of the management of pain, movement disorders, and epilepsy through the application of chronic stimulation was made evident. Eventually, in the 1990s, by combining the technologies of the implantable pacemaker with chronically implanted deep electrodes, the discovery of deep brain stimulation (DBS) was made possible.