Characterizing the Network Effects of Deep Brain Stimulation for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder using Structural and Functional Imaging

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a treatment for severe, refractory OCD. We conducted post-operative DTI imaging to characterize structural connectivity from DBS electrodes. We also conducted fMRI during stimulation ON/OFF studies to elucidate the impact of DBS on functional networks in therapeutic and non-therapeutic configurations. In preliminary analysis, we find that therapeutic contacts are structurally connected to components of the OCD circuit in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), caudate, and thalamus. We also identified suppression in this cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuit during therapeutic DBS ON vs OFF, suggesting DBS therapy operates by inhibiting the OCD network.