Samer D. Tabbal, M.D.

DEPARTMENT OF Neurology
Keywords: imaging, neurobiology, pathogenesis, physiology, deep brain stimulation

My research interests include mechanisms of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson disease (PD) and other movement disorders, basal ganglia neurophysiology, and pathophysiology of dystonia.

We are engaged in several studies of PD. We investigate mechanisms of action of deep brain stimulation, a dramatic new treatment for PD. These studies combine PET, cognitive testing, and quantified measures of movement.

We also use PET to measure radioligand binding and sensorimotor processing in dystonia. We developed a new animal model of dystonia to investigate pharmacologic and physiologic changes. We use PET to investigate drug-mediated pathways in the brain and parse out the effects of selective dopaminergic agonists.

Finally, we investigate the relationship between blood flow responses in the brain with electrophysiological responses done in the same animals. These animal studies provide insights into the basic mechanisms of many of the studies that we subsequently apply to humans.