Strategies on Deep Brain Stimulation Devices for Effective Behavioral Studies in Rodents

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an essential therapeutic resource for treating movement disorders like dystonia. In order to gain further insight into the underlying disease mechanisms, animal models are used. However, the most critical obstacle for further research is the lack of subcutaneous implantable, miniaturized neurostimulators that can deliver reliable and replicable results. Extracorporeal mounting of neurostimulators on the head or back places a high burden on the animal. Furthermore, the animals frequently tamper with these stimulation setups, leading to high failure rates. In the absence of suitable diagnostic tests, such defects generally escape detection. Therefore, this article presents strategies for a DBS stimulator design intending to increase the scientific merit of behavioral experiments in rodents. In this context, we demonstrate an easy-to-implement, waterproof, biocompatible, and compact encapsulation method suited for full implantation in small rodents. Using this method, we implanted DBS devices subcutaneously in dystonic hamsters that have been successfully tested for up to 17 days.