Brain pacemaker to lift anxiety-like behaviour after acute and long-term stimulation of rats

• Main Author: Muhammad, Sharafuddin B. M. K.
• Other Authors: Ajai Vyas
• Format: Student Research Poster
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Deep brain stimulation; Acute stimulation
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/95901; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/11308
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is currently being investigated as a potential therapy for treatment-resistant depression. To date, a promising target for DBS as therapy is the subcallosal cingulate gyrus or medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), with approximately 60% of patients being characterized as responders. Despite the encouraging findings, the long-term stimulation (LTS) effects on anxiety-like behaviour have not been extensively investigated. In the present study, we report on the effects of acute and long-term bilateral mPFC DBS tested across different paradigms of anxiety-like behaviours. We hypothesized that LTS would exert its therapeutic effects by altering the dysfunctional neural activity leading to normal functional brain circuits. [3rd Award]