Direct targeting of the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus in deep brain stimulation for essential tremor: a prospective study with comparison to a historical cohort.

Abstract

The ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus (VIM) is an effective target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) to control symptoms related to essential tremor. The VIM is typically targeted using indirect methods, although studies have reported visualization of the VIM on proton density-weighted MRI. This study compares the outcomes between patients who underwent VIM DBS with direct and indirect targeting.