DBS is one of the most promising areas of OCD research because early studies show it may help many within the approximately 20 percent of OCD patients for whom neither psychological nor drug therapy works.

Our research is part of a larger trend where researchers are seeking to replace older ‘ablative’ surgical techniques. These old methods, while bringing relief from a variety of debilitating diseases, also permanently destroy nerve circuits....

They’re like pacemakers. They’re abnormal signals that they’re trying to bring back to normal. Parkinson’s disease leads to an abnormal firing pattern in a specific part of the brain and these brain pacemakers have been...