CRC/Transregio TRR 134, Project C02: Tracking the response to food items in subcortical brain structures by invasive electrophysiology in humans

Subcortical structures have been the targeted to alleviate neuropsychiatric disorders via deep-brain stimulation. We have recorded from the hypothalamus, nucleus accumbens, globus pallidus internus and subthalamic nucleus to delineate the response profile of these structures with regard to reward processing and the processing of food-related stimuli. We will continue this work and will focus on two main questions: We will investigate the effects of DBS of the nucleus accumbens in a series of severely obese patients in addition to recording perioperatively from the target structure. Based on our preliminary data indicating marked weight-loss in one patient we expect that DBS will reduce craving for food and reduce weight in the treated patients. In a second work-package we will use fMRI to delineate the effects of DBS of the subthalamic nucleus, which has been shown to lead to weight increase, on the processing of food items taking advantage of the fact that some DBS systems have been approved for use in MR-scanners.