Blog 2: Neurostimulation
- rsruthipro
- Sep 19, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 26, 2024
Neurostimulation is a method of stimulating the nervous system with short modulated electric impulses. This can be done either invasively or non- invasively. Stimulation of a specific nerve helps in activating or inhibiting the activity of that specific neuronal group to achieve desired results in treatment of a condition. Some of the common conditions for which neurostimulation is used are:
To alleviate severe pains
To treat disorders like epilepsy, Parkinsons disease, etc.
Depending on the condition to be treated, different types of neurostimulations are performed on different parts of the brain.
Types of Neurostimulation
We will discuss 5 types of neurostimulation depending on the region of the brain that is stimulated, : ( Refer Figure 1)
Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS)
Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS)
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
Motor Cortex Stimulation (MSC)
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ( rTMS)
PNS, SCS, DBS and MCS are invasive methods where as rTMS is non- invasive
Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) as the name suggests, is the stimulation of the peripheral nerve. ( Peripheral nerves are the nerves that extend from the spinal cord to different parts of our body). PNS helps relieve chronic pain in different parts of the body. This is an invasive procedure. In this type of stimulation, an electrode is placed under the patient's skin near the nerve that is causing the pain and electric impulses are sent through this electrode to stimulate the nerve . These electric impulses from the electrode prevent the brain neurotransmitters from receiving pain signals thus reducing the pain.
In PNS, the electrode focuses on a specific nerve that causes the pain. PNS can be performed either as a temporary or also a permanent solution. PNS is mostly under local anesthesia.
Spinal Cord Stimulation, also referred to as Dorsal Column Stimulation ( DCS) is an invasive method in which the stimulator is implanted between the spinal cord and the vertebra to stimulate the spinal cord with electrical impulses. This is usually used as a long term or a permanent solution for severe pain when all other therapy or treatments have failed. A trial stimulation is usually conducted on the patient before implanting the spinal cord stimulator permanently inside the patient's body.
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a surgical procedure where electrodes are implanted deep inside the brain so as to stimulate the specific regions of the brain like thalamus to treat various conditions like Parkinson’s disease. The stimulator connecting the electrodes is placed in the chest area under the patient's skin. DBS is mainly used to treat movement disorders where the patient experiences involuntary muscle contractions, uncontrollable jerking movements, epilepsy, etc.
Motor Cortex Stimulation (MSC) is again a surgical procedure where a specific region of the brain called the motor cortex is stimulated by placing an electrode under the patient's skull. Motor cortex is the region of the cerebral cortex that is located in the frontal lobe which plays vital role in body movement control. MCS has been used to treat neural pain syndromes like trigeminal neuropathy, post- stroke pains or even to treat movement disorders.
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ( rTMS) is a non- invasive method of brain stimulation where an electromagnetic coil is placed on the patient's scalp near the region of the brain where magnetic impulses are produced to stimulate the nerves , thus stimulating brain regions . This kind stimulation is known to be used to either diagnose or treat psychiatric disorders like depression. This method is used to treat depression only for those patients for whom the other treatment methods haven't worked.
There are many more methods of stimulation. We shall learn more gradually. Until then just in case you are a little curious to learn more, I am listing down a few sites where I found a lot of information and if you are one from those brave ones, you may take a dive into the vast google ocean to learn more.
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