Nucleus Accumbens-Anterior Limb of Internal Capsule Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant…

Abstract

We conducted an open-label pilot study of bilateral nucleus accumbens-anterior limb of the internal capsule (NAc-ALIC) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in three patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). Clinical symptoms, global functioning, cognition, stimulation parameters and intracranial local field potential (LFP) were assessed over 24 weeks. Two patients met the prespecified clinical response criterion, defined as a [≥]40% reduction in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score, by week 8 and showed PANSS reductions of 69.0% and 69.4%, respectively, at week 24. The third patient showed a 18.7% reduction at week 24. Responders showed improvements in global functioning and selected cognitive domains. Longitudinal LFP recordings revealed increased gamma-band relative power and reduced theta-band activity in responders, whereas these changes were less consistent in the non-responder. DBS was generally well tolerated, with transient stimulation-related adverse effects resolving after reprogramming. These findings provide preliminary clinical evidence supporting further investigation of NAc-ALIC DBS in TRS and suggest that individualized programming and intracranial physiological measures may contribute to the identification of treatment-response signatures.

RegistrationNCT06112067 in ClinicalTrial.gov

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{lu2026nucleus,
  title = {{Nucleus Accumbens-Anterior Limb of Internal Capsule Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: An Open-label Pilot Study}},
  author = {C. Lu and X. Zhang and Z. Zhai and J. Xue and Y. Zhao and Q. Xiang and K. Zhuo and Y. Shen and H. Han and H. Lei and P. Wang and L. Shen and L. Lang and L. Chen and Y. Xu and Z. Wang and D. Liu},
  howpublished = {medRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.64898/2026.10.01.26364314},
  url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.26364314v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Nucleus Accumbens-Anterior Limb of Internal Capsule Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia: An Open-label Pilot Study
AU  - C. Lu
AU  - X. Zhang
AU  - Z. Zhai
AU  - J. Xue
AU  - Y. Zhao
AU  - Q. Xiang
AU  - K. Zhuo
AU  - Y. Shen
AU  - H. Han
AU  - H. Lei
AU  - P. Wang
AU  - L. Shen
AU  - L. Lang
AU  - L. Chen
AU  - Y. Xu
AU  - Z. Wang
AU  - D. Liu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
PB  - medRxiv
DO  - 10.64898/2026.10.01.26364314
UR  - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.26364314v1
AB  - We conducted an open-label pilot study of bilateral nucleus accumbens-anterior limb of the internal capsule (NAc-ALIC) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in three patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). Clinical symptoms, global functioning, cognition, stimulation parameters and intracranial local field potential (LFP) were assessed over 24 weeks. Two patients met the prespecified clinical response criterion, defined as a [≥]40% reduction in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score, by week 8 and showed PANSS reductions of 69.0% and 69.4%, respectively, at week 24. The third patient showed a 18.7% reduction at week 24. Responders showed improvements in global functioning and selected cognitive domains. Longitudinal LFP recordings revealed increased gamma-band relative power and reduced theta-band activity in responders, whereas these changes were less consistent in the non-responder. DBS was generally well tolerated, with transient stimulation-related adverse effects resolving after reprogramming. These findings provide preliminary clinical evidence supporting further investigation of NAc-ALIC DBS in TRS and suggest that individualized programming and intracranial physiological measures may contribute to the identification of treatment-response signatures.  RegistrationNCT06112067 in ClinicalTrial.gov
ER  -

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