Led by the University of Western Australia’s (UWA) School of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Professor Sergio Starkstein, and School of Surgery, Professor Christopher Lind, the study will focus on understanding the regions of the brain associated with severe tremor and motor fluctuations, as well as the best technique to treat these symptoms in people with Parkinson’s.

Professors’ Lind and Starkstein’s team seek to improve an existing technique, known as Deep Brain Stimulation, to reduce motor symptoms, by targeting a new region of the brain to achieve better results.

“So far, Deep Brain Stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus, is one of the most effective treatments for patients with Parkinson’s who have marked ON-OFF fluctuations, severe tremor or dyskinesia (involuntary movement) resulting from long-term use of medication,” Professor Starkstein says.