Emily Shannon

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  Evaluating Information Content for Deep Brain Stimulation as a Treatment for Parkinson's Disease
  Emily Shannon

  Parkinson's Disease is a disorder of the nervous system, which causes a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the basal ganglia region of the brain. This loss reduces the quality of communication to neurons in the motor cortex, causing individuals to experience motor symptoms such as tremors, slowness of movement, and rigidity. One treatment option for this disorder is Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), in which electrical impulses are applied to the subthalamic nucleus through implanted electrodes, connected by a wire lead to a pacemaker-like device in the chest. This stimulation affects neurons in the globus pallidus externa and substantia nigra pars reticula, improving the communication between neurons to relieve the associated motor symptoms. Due to the finite battery life of these devices, current research regarding DBS involves finding a way to minimize the power output of the device, while still retaining its ability to relieve symptoms. Data provided by Dr. Warren Grill's lab at Duke University was used in this project to explore how the information content of neurons changed for rats in a control case, with Parkinsonism, and undergoing DBS of different frequencies. Understanding how information changes under these different conditions, as well as under different frequencies of stimulation, can hopefully drive investigations into which frequency yields the best results.