Scientists discover sources of Parkinson's disease, Tourette's syndrome, and OCD in bombshell study

Researchers may have found a new way to target the sources of certain brain disorders.

In a study led by scientists at Mass General Brigham, deep brain stimulation (DBS) was able to pinpoint dysfunctions in the brain that are responsible for four cognitive disorders: Parkinson’s disease, dystonia (a muscle disorder condition that causes repetitive or twisting movements), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette’s syndrome.

The discovery, published in Nature Neuroscience on Feb. 22, could potentially help doctors determine new treatments for these disorders.
The study included 261 patients worldwide — 70 had dystonia, 127 were Parkinson’s disease patients, 50 had been diagnosed with OCD and 14 had Tourette’s syndrome.

The researchers implanted electrodes into the brains of each participant and used special software to determine which brain circuits were dysfunctional in each of the four disorders.