Deep Brain Stimulation: A New Frontier in Psychiatry provides an overview of current developments and the future possibilities of deep brain stimulation for patients with therapy-refractory psychiatric disorders. The side-by-side presentation of clinical applications and animal research provides a truly translational approach. Also included is a special chapter on the ethical issues involved in deep brain stimulation in psychiatry.

Deep brain stimulation of selected brain areas has been shown to result in a substantial improvement of symptoms and quality of life in patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, major depressive disorder and drug addiction. Although it is still an experimental therapy and the number of psychiatric patients that are treated is low, its effectiveness and safety makes deep brain stimulation the most promising therapy for treating other serious and life-threatening psychiatric conditions.

Basic principles of deep brain stimulation.- Neural circuits affected by DBS for psychiatric disorders.- Mechanisms of action of SBS for psychiatric disorders.- DBS for obsessive-compulsive disorder.- Obsessive-compulsive disorders in animals.- Subcallosal cingulate cortex DBS for treatment resistant mood disorders.- DBS to the human reward system as a putative treatment for refractory major depression.- DBS in animal models of depression.- DBS in Tourette syndrome.- Surgical treatments for drug addictions in humans.- Manipulating addictive behaviour in animal models.- Neuropsychiatric side effects of DBS in Parkinson's disease.- Psychiatric aspects of Parkinson's disease in animal models.- Scientific recordings in DBS.- Neurotransmitter release during DBS.- The potential role of non-neuronal cells in the DBS mechanism.- What are glia? Could they be players in DBS.- Animal studies in DBS research.- Neuroimaging of DBS in psychiatric disorders.- Optogenetic strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders: Circuit-function analysis and clinical implications.- Next generation electrodes for steering brain stimulation.- Future applications: nanotechniques.- Ethical guidance for the use of DBS in psychiatric trials and emerging uses: Review and reflections.