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Surgical Anatomy of the Basal Ganglia and Thalamus

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Brain Anatomy and Neurosurgical Approaches

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Abstract

Over the last four decades, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has emerged as the most effective and safe surgical intervention for disorders involving the basal ganglia, specifically Parkinson’s disease (PD), essential tremor, dystonia, and obsessive–compulsive disorder. Many randomized clinical studies have shown an effective suppression of PD motor symptoms when stimulating subthalamic nucleus or globus pallidus internus, tremor when stimulating ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus and tics, and compulsive symptoms when stimulating the accumbens and the ventral limb of the internal capsule. However, incomplete understanding of the basal ganglia and thalamic neuroanatomy and the therapeutic mechanisms of DBS impede the personalization of this therapy and may contribute to suboptimal outcomes. This chapter aims to elucidate the microsurgical anatomy of these basal ganglia and thalamus.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Microsurgical Anatomy Dr. Evandro de Oliveira Laboratory, BP—A Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Vanessa Milanese Holanda Zimpel

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Vanessa Milanese Holanda Zimpel

  3. Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Erik Middlebrooks

  4. Hospital Alipio Correa Neto, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Natally Santiago

  5. BP—A Beneficência Portuguesa de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Natally Santiago

Authors
  1. Vanessa Milanese Holanda Zimpel
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  2. Erik Middlebrooks
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  3. Natally Santiago
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurological Surgery, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Eberval Gadelha Figueiredo

  2. Neurosurgery Department, University of Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Nícollas Nunes Rabelo

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, State University of Ponta Grossa, Ponta Grossa, Paraná, Brazil

    Leonardo Christiaan Welling

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Zimpel, V.M.H., Middlebrooks, E., Santiago, N. (2023). Surgical Anatomy of the Basal Ganglia and Thalamus. In: Figueiredo, E.G., Rabelo, N.N., Welling, L.C. (eds) Brain Anatomy and Neurosurgical Approaches . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14820-0_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14820-0_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-14819-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-14820-0

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