For over a decade, Carnegie Mellon University neuroscientist Dr. Aryn Gittis has been on a mission to understand how the brain controls movement, a pursuit that is now opening doors to new treatments for Parkinson’s Disease.
Her research focuses on the basal ganglia, a region of the brain involved in motor control. What began as foundational science, filled with rejected grants, surprising results, and daring new ideas, is now on the verge of clinical application. Later this year, a team at UT Southwestern Medical Center, led by neurosurgeon Dr. Nader Pouratian, will begin testing a deep-brain stimulation (DBS) protocol based on Gittis’ discoveries.
A New Approach to DBS
DBS has long helped Parkinson’s patients manage movement symptoms after medications no longer work. It involves implanting electrodes in the brain to deliver electrical pulses. But traditional DBS only works while the device is on, symptoms return as soon as it is turned off.
Gittis’ lab discovered a way to make DBS more effective and longer lasting. By identifying two key neuron populations, one that needs activation and another that needs suppression, her team developed a “burst stimulation” technique that mimics this dual action. Remarkably, the brain’s own wiring supports this separation, a surprising feature that no one had taken notice of before.
From Discovery to Clinical Trial
This breakthrough, refined with collaborators like CMU’s Andreas Pfenning and Pitt’s Jonathan Rubin, is now moving into patient trials. Early tests show promising results: reduced stimulation time, fewer side effects, and signs of the brain returning to healthier activity patterns.
“It suggests we’re not just putting a Band-Aid on symptoms,” Gittis said. “We might actually be restoring the brain to a healthier state.”
The Road to Recognition
Plagued by early skepticism, her mission wasn’t easy. Grant reviewers doubted whether the targeted brain cells even mattered. But Gittis persisted, supported by mentors like CMU neuroscientist Alison Barth and funding from the NSF, NIH Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience program. Her dedication and persistence paid off as her work gained recognition in top journals like Nature Neuroscience and Science.
A Lab Built on Collaboration
Gittis credits much of her success to the students and collaborators who helped build her lab. From Shruti Nanivadekar, whose engineering background helped launch the lab’s first stimulation system, to undergraduate Arini Bhargava, who praised the lab’s supportive, yet rigorous culture, the team’s contributions have been vital.
Even alumni like Kevin Mastro, now at Harvard Medical School, reflect on how Gittis’ mentorship shaped their scientific approach: “She pushed us to pause every week, ask what we’d learned, and let that guide the next step.”
Looking Ahead
As clinical trials begin, new questions arise: Why do burst stimulation benefits appear only in advanced Parkinson’s? Which brain regions are key to sustaining recovery? How can surgeons tailor treatments to individual patients?
Gittis’ lab is already exploring these mysteries, backed by major awards like the 2024 McKnight Neurobiology of Brain Disorders prize. Her message to young scientists is clear: stay focused, stay curious, and keep going. Persistence pays off.