System and method for treating parkinson's disease and other movement disorders

Abstract

Systems and methods for treating movement disorders using cortical stimulation. In one embodiment, a method for treating movement disorders comprises determining a site at the cortex of the brain of a patient related to a movement disorder of an afflicted body part. The site can be determined by obtaining a representation of neural activity occurring in the cortex of the patient and correlating an area of neural activity with the afflicted body part. The method can also include applying neural stimulation, such as electrical or magnetic waveforms, directly to the site.

1 . A method of improving symptoms associated with a movement disorder comprising:
 selecting a stimulation site based upon a patient's symptomatology, wherein the symptomatology of gait disturbance biases the selecting towards interhemispheric fissure along the precentral gyrus and/or postcentral gyrus and the symptomotalogy of speech disturbance biases the selecting towards the Sylvian fissure along the precentral gyrus and/or postcentral gyrus;   positioning at least one electrode device having a plurality of electrical contacts such that at least a first of the plurality of electrical contacts is positioned below the patient's skull and on the dura over the stimulation site; and   applying electrical signals to the electrical contacts to stimulate the stimulation site such that at least one symptom associated with the movement disorder is improved.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the movement disorder is Parkinson's Disease. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein positioning the electrode comprises positing an array having a plurality of electrodes such that at least one electrode is over the precental gurus and at least one other electrode is over the postcentral gurus of the patient. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein positioning the electrode comprises position an array having a plurality of electrodes over only the precetnral guyrus of the patient. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising obtaining a representation of neural activity occurring in the cortex of the patient and correlating an area of neural activity with an afflicted body part to further select the stimulation site. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein a function that is affected by the movement disorder is gait and the superior-inferior location along the precentral gyrus comprises a location closer to the interhemispheric fissure than the Sylvian fissure. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  wherein a function that is affected by the movement disorder is speech and the superior-inferior location along the precentral gyrus comprises a location closer to the Sylvian fissure than the interhemispheric fissure.