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By using virtual reality to regulate and decrease the tremors of patients with Parkinson’s disease, researchers will be able to pinpoint specific regions of the brain to electrically stimulate. This will not only be a far less invasive treatment method than the ones existing today, but it can also help patients retrieve some of their vital cognitive functions and motor skills.
A progressive brain disorder, Parkinson’s disease occurs when neurons in the section of the brain controlling movement begin to die. This leads to a significant drop in the production of the chemical dopamine, thus causing symptoms of stiffness, tremors, and balance and coordination issues in the patient. However, the first motor symptoms of Parkinson’s, tremors, often begin asymmetrically (affecting only one side of the body) and can progress and worsen over time. While most commonly noticed in the hand, the tremors can affect the legs, jaw, and mouth, and can even worsen under tense and stressful conditions.
Although there are therapies and treatments available for Parkinson’s patients, their success rate varies. However, an alternative treatment option, for those whose therapies proved unsuccessful, is known as ‘Deep Brain Stimulation’ (DBS). This surgery allows a physician to root electrodes deep in the brain and connect them to a device planted inside the chest. These implants then work in tandem to stimulate a specific area of the brain through electrical impulses in order to decrease tremors.
While this is an effective solution, its hefty cost and invasiveness make it less appealing and accessible to the general public. However, even overlooking the other challenges with DBS, this procedure’s long-term effects on the patient remain unknown and make it a somewhat risky operation. The key to harnessing the advantages of DBS would be to understand its effects on a patient’s brain and track all stimuli for any abnormalities.
For example, Dr. Nathan Rowland, a neurosurgeon at MUSC, is studying how “planning for an upcoming movement affects the brain while it's being stimulated”. Upon showing his patients a visual stimulus, such as a red ball against a blue background, he asks them to pick up the ball, thus channeling the same reaching movement used for everyday tasks. By recreating and recording the completion of everyday tasks and their effect on the patient’s brain, Rowland is attempting to understand its functioning with this disorder and learn how and when to assist the brain. The hope for this treatment is to identify when certain regions of a patient’s brain need to be activated, and to place electrodes on the outer surface of the brain, rather than deep inside, to electrically stimulate that area. This would be a far less invasive procedure than the current DBS method and can be tailored specifically for each patient.
Creating the appropriate environments for these tests to accurately analyze a patient’s neuromechanics is a time consuming and labor intensive process that only allows for a few patients to be tested in a day. But Rowland has come up with the innovative solution of using virtual reality (VR) goggles to simulate the exact environment for a particular test and allow researchers to observe the patients’ reactions in a controlled environment. Not only does this allow for a faster testing process and more patients tested daily, it is the perfect tool to study brain behavior in varying environments while conserving resources and aiming for accuracy.
By capitalizing on the forever-changing world of technology and using virtual reality to pinpoint specific areas of the brain to stimulate to avoid tremors, future rehabilitation treatments for patients with Parkinson’s disease will drastically improve.
By Asha Kaikini
Works Cited
“Expanding Horizons Virtually.” Muschealth.org, muschealth.org/health-professionals/progressnotes/2020/spring/virtual-reality. Accessed 22 Aug. 2023.
“Tremor | Parkinson’s Foundation.” Www.parkinson.org, www.parkinson.org/understanding-parkinsons/movement-symptoms/tremor.
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