Our expert neurosurgeons specialize in utilizing Deep Brain Stimulation, or DBS, to restore function and quality of life in patients with all types of movement disorders, including Parkinson’s disease. We are the only DBS program in the tri-state area capable of performing all types of DBS implantation surgery, including asleep, frame-based, and frameless DBS. Our state-of-the-art operating room suite offers the accuracy of a powerful 3T MRI. Faulty pathway signals in the parts of the brain that control movement are at the root of many movement disorders. Previous surgical methods (such as ablation) destroyed brain tissue to eliminate the problematic signals. Instead, in DBS, the first procedure involves placing an electrode in the brain. Then, in a second procedure, surgeons connect the electrode to a tiny electrical generator implanted in the chest or abdomen. The generator delivers an electrical current to the area of the brain responsible for the symptoms and blocks them. While DBS is not a cure for movement disorders, it can substantially easesymptoms and decrease the number of necessary medications, limiting side effects and improving quality of life. DBS can also be effective for other conditions, including: Tremor:DBS has proven very effective in controlling and eliminating certain types of tremor. DBS is FDA-approved for the treatment of essential tremor and also helpful for a range of other tremor types. Dystonia:Select patients with severe dystonia have found significant benefit with DBS therapy. Patients with DYT1-positive dystonia have had good responses with this FDA-approved treatment. The effectiveness of DBS varies on the primary or secondary nature of the disease. We thoroughly review each patient to determine the potential benefit. Neuropsychiatric disease:Neurosurgery has long used techniques that destroy brain tissue to treat neuropsychiatric conditions. Today, we are exploring and expanding the use of nondestructive neuron-augmentation for psychiatric disorders, including depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). DBS has been helpful for select patients with severe OCD. The use of DBS to treat other neuropsychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorder and Tourette’s syndrome, is currently being studied, with promising results.

Yale Psychiatry is the largest provider of psychiatric services in Connecticut, and the top National Institutes of Health-supported Department of Psychiatry in the United States. We are dedicated to adding to the body of knowledge in the field, and improving treatments for psychiatric disorders that span all ages. This includes helping people cope with major life events or medical illnesses, behavioral problems associated with personality disorder or addiction, mood and psychotic disorders, and dementia. Yale investigators have pioneered new treatments for nearly every psychiatric disorder. Our research programs have produced breakthroughs in areas as diverse as molecular neuroscience, genetics, translational neuroscience, neuroimaging, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, rehabilitation, health services, forensic psychiatry, epidemiology, and health policy. Today, our clinicians are at the forefront of social, pharmacological, psychological, rehabilitative, and neurostimulation treatments. Through clinical trials, our interventional psychiatry service delivers high-impact treatments, including ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) and ketamine, for patients with treatment-resistant symptoms of depression. Our clinical programs are interwoven with our research efforts. We host programs that specialize in the major mental diseases and substance abuse treatment at three major institutions: Connecticut Mental Health Center, the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, and the Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital. We also provide increased psychiatry support for Smilow Cancer Hospital in areas such as smoking cessation.