Pilot study of responsive nucleus accumbens deep brain stimulation for loss-of-control eating

Nucleus accumbens, low-frequency, responsive deep brain stimulation improved self-control of food intake and weight loss in two patients with binge eating disorder and severe obesity Cravings that precede loss of control (LOC) over food consumption present an opportunity for intervention in patients with the binge eating disorder (BED). In this pilot study, we used responsive deep brain stimulation (DBS) to record nucleus accumbens (NAc) electrophysiology during food cravings preceding LOC eating in two patients with BED and severe obesity (trial registration no. NCT03868670). Increased NAc low-frequency oscillations, prominent during food cravings, were used to guide DBS delivery. Over 6 months, we observed improved self-control of food intake and weight loss. These findings provide early support for restoring inhibitory control with electrophysiologically-guided NAc DBS. Further work with increased sample sizes is required to determine the scalability of this approach.

Automated summary

In this pilot study, responsive deep brain stimulation (DBS) was used to improve self-control of food intake and weight loss in two patients with binge eating disorder (BED) and severe obesity. Increased low-frequency oscillations in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), recorded during food cravings preceding loss of control (LOC) eating, were used to guide the delivery of DBS. Over 6 months, improved self-control of food intake and weight loss were observed. Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to determine the scalability of this approach.