Deep brain stimulation for obesity—from theoretical foundations to designing the first human pilot study

Obesity is perhaps an evolutionary consequence of a species reared with intermittent caloric reward. Humans are hardwired to enjoy food, and our bodies voraciously extract and store energy from food as if each meal was the last. As an amalgam of behavioral and metabolic disturbance, obesity is an at...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurosurgical review 2012-01, Vol.35 (1), p.37-43
Main Authors: Tomycz, Nestor D., Whiting, Donald M., Oh, Michael Y.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Animals
Deep Brain Stimulation
Feeding Behavior - physiology
Female
Humans
Hypothalamus - anatomy & histology
Hypothalamus - physiology
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Neurosurgery
Obesity - therapy
Pilot Projects
Review
West Virginia
Young Adult
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Obesity is perhaps an evolutionary consequence of a species reared with intermittent caloric reward. Humans are hardwired to enjoy food, and our bodies voraciously extract and store energy from food as if each meal was the last. As an amalgam of behavioral and metabolic disturbance, obesity is an attractive target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) since neuromodulation may be able to influence both eating behavior and metabolism. The current pandemic proportions of obesity combined with the failures and morbidity of modern treatments remain the impetus behind the application of DBS to this complex disease. We review the rationale and scientific foundations for obesity DBS and explain how this preclinical evidence has helped sculpt the design of the first human pilot study.
ISSN:0344-5607
1437-2320
DOI:10.1007/s10143-011-0359-9