Scientific and ethical issues related to deep brain stimulation for disorders of mood, behavior, and thought.
BACKGROUND
A 2-day consensus conference was held to examine scientific and ethical issues in the application of deep brain stimulation for treating mood and behavioral disorders, such as major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Tourette syndrome.


OBJECTIVE
The primary objectives of the conference were to (1) establish consensus among participants about the design of future clinical trials of deep brain stimulation for disorders of mood, behavior, and thought and (2) develop standards for the protection of human subjects participating in such studies.


RESULTS
Conference participants identified 16 key points for guiding research in this growing field.


CONCLUSIONS
The adoption of the described guidelines would help to protect the safety and rights of research subjects who participate in clinical trials of deep brain stimulation for disorders of mood, behavior, and thought and have further potential to benefit other stakeholders in the research process, including clinical researchers and device manufactures. That said, the adoption of the guidelines will require broad and substantial commitment from many of these same stakeholders.
Rabins
Peter
P
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Appleby
Brian S
BS
Brandt
Jason
J
DeLong
Mahlon R
MR
Dunn
Laura B
LB
Gabriëls
Loes
L
Greenberg
Benjamin D
BD
Haber
Suzanne N
SN
Holtzheimer
Paul E
PE
Mari
Zoltan
Z
Mayberg
Helen S
HS
McCann
Evelyn
E
Mink
Sallie P
SP
Rasmussen
Steven
S
Schlaepfer
Thomas E
TE
Vawter
Dorothy E
DE
Vitek
Jerrold L
JL
Walkup
John
J
Mathews
Debra J H
DJ
D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000628:therapy; D032984:Ethics, Research; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000628:therapy; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000628:therapy