The authors review the history of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients for treating obesity, describe current DBS targets in the brain, and discuss potential DBS targets and nontraditional stimulation parameters that may improve the effectiveness of DBS for ameliorating obesity. Deep brain stimulation for treating obesity has been performed both in animals and in humans with intriguing preliminary results. The brain is an attractive target for addressing obesity because modulating brain activity may permit influencing both sides of the energy equation--caloric intake and energy expenditure.
Keywords: BMI = body mass index; DA = dopamine; DBS = deep brain stimulation; HFS = high-frequency stimulation; LHA = lateral hypothalamic area; LHb = lateral habenula; NAc = nucleus accumbens; OCD = obsessive-compulsive disorder; OFC = orbitofrontal cortex; ON = orexinergic neuron; PFC = prefrontal cortex; SCC = subcallosal cingulate cortex; VMH = ventromedial hypothalamus; VS = ventral striatum; VTA = ventral tegmental area; addiction; compound obesity; deep brain stimulation; eating disorders; functional neurosurgery; incentive salience.