Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
The use of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is reviewed, including a brief discussion of historical groundwork in the surgical treatment of psychiatric disorders, and the rationale for the current practice. The theoretical neuroanatomic circuitry underlying the pathophysiology of OCD is presented, along with supporting neuroimaging and clinical evidence. The promising early results of DBS for OCD are summarized, including a discussion of current targets and programming issues. Finally, the ethical implications of the procedure are briefly discussed.