Research Seminars in Neuroscience Focus on Exploration of Brain, Its Impact on Patients
University of Rochester Medical Center to Host Neuroinflammation and Deep Brain Stimulation Symposiums
The University of Rochester Medical Center is set to host two significant symposiums next month, focusing on neuroinflammation and deep brain stimulation (DBS) technologies.
The first symposium, the Deep Brain Stimulation Symposium, will take place at the Memorial Art Gallery on Thursday-Friday, Oct. 7-8. Registration for this event is free for University scientists and students, with a $60 fee for the Friday night banquet at the George Eastman House. Speakers at the symposium will include scientists and physicians from the University of Rochester Medical Center, as well as colleagues from institutions such as Harvard, Brown, and the Cleveland Clinic.
Webster Pilcher, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, emphasizes the importance of translational neuromedicine in both symposiums. One of the key topics to be discussed at the Deep Brain Stimulation Symposium is the use of DBS to treat conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, and Parkinson's disease.
The second symposium, the Schmitt Symposium, will focus on neuroinflammation and will take place at the Class of '62 Auditorium at the Medical Center on Friday, Oct. 8. M. Kerry O'Banion, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy, is an organizer of the Schmitt Symposium. The event is free and open to the University community.
In the Schmitt Symposium, Jarred Younger’s recent findings will be highlighted, which underscore a very inflamed brain in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Brain-targeted treatments like transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation (tFUS) show promise to reach deep brain areas affected by inflammation. New research findings discussed in both symposiums were discovered in laboratories at the University of Rochester.
Regarding DBS, the latest breakthroughs highlighted include FDA approval in 2025 of adaptive DBS systems that use closed-loop feedback to automatically modulate stimulation based on real-time brain signals, improving symptom control and personalizing therapy, especially for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Studies are identifying electrophysiological biomarkers within the subthalamic nucleus (STN) to guide adaptive DBS and examine its effects on both motor and non-motor symptoms such as sleep disturbances and pain via modulation of neurochemical pathways.
Other speakers will come from institutions such as Duke, the University of Nebraska, and Trinity College in Ireland. The symposia will feature discussions about how new research findings might translate to better health for people around the world. Registrations for both symposiums will be taken until Monday, Oct. 4.
Broader advances in neuroinflammation include better brain imaging technologies like Connectome 2.0 MRI, enabling ultra-high-resolution mapping of brain fibers and cellular structures—which supports understanding neuroinflammation at finer scales. Additionally, understanding the interplay between neuroinflammation and DBS may open avenues for DBS and neuromodulation to target inflammatory processes in the brain.
In summary, the symposia will cover evidence and therapeutic targeting of neuroinflammation in chronic neurological diseases like ME/CFS using brain stimulation (e.g., tFUS), advances in DBS technology including adaptive closed-loop systems guided by electrophysiological biomarkers, novel neuromodulation modalities such as bilateral focused ultrasound and vagus nerve stimulation impacting both motor symptoms and inflammatory pathways, high-resolution brain imaging supporting detailed understanding of neuroanatomy and inflammation, and potential future expansion of DBS to target neuroinflammatory mechanisms, moving beyond motor symptom control.
These insights reflect the cutting edge of research integrating inflammation biology with advanced neuromodulation techniques being actively developed and clinically translated as of 2025.
- The latest research findings discussed in the symposiums were discovered in laboratories at the University of Rochester, focusing on neuroinflammation and deep brain stimulation (DBS) technologies.
- The Schmitt Symposium will highlight Jarred Younger’s recent findings, which reveal a very inflamed brain in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and brain-targeted treatments like transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation (tFUS) show promise to reach deep brain areas affected by inflammation.
- In regards to DBS, the latest breakthroughs include FDA approval in 2025 of adaptive DBS systems that use closed-loop feedback to modify stimulation based on real-time brain signals, improving symptom control and personalizing therapy, especially for Parkinson’s disease (PD).
- The symposia will also explore potential future expansion of DBS to target neuroinflammatory mechanisms, moving beyond motor symptom control, and advancements in science like high-resolution brain imaging support detailed understanding of neuroanatomy and inflammation.
