Deep brain stimulation induces striatal dopamine release in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a chronic psychiatric disorder related to dysfunctional dopaminergic neurotransmission. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeted at the nucleus accumbens (NAc) has recently become an effective treatment for therapy-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder, but its effect on dopaminergic transmission is unknown.

Methods: We measured the effects of NAc DBS in 15 patients on the dopamine D2/3 receptor availability in the striatum with [(123)I]iodobenzamide ([(123)I]IBZM) single photon emission computed tomography.