---
title: Improve mood through caudate stimulation
nct_id: NCT07409207
phase: NA
status: RECRUITING
sponsor: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
study_type: INTERVENTIONAL
canonical_url: "https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07409207"
clinicaltrials_gov: "https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07409207"
last_fetched: "2026-05-10T14:08:17.245Z"
source: "Parkinson's Pathways (curated)"
---
# Improve mood through caudate stimulation

**Goal (in five words):** Improve mood through caudate stimulation

**Official Title:** Neurophysiology of Reward Signaling in Parkinson's Disease

**Trial ID:** [NCT07409207](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07409207)

## Key Facts

- **Phase:** NA
- **Status:** RECRUITING
- **Study Type:** INTERVENTIONAL
- **Sponsor:** Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- **Target Enrollment:** 75 participants
- **Start Date:** 2024-09-01
- **Completion Date:** 2029-09-30
- **Conditions:** Parkinson Disease
- **Interventions:** Neurophysiology recordings, Neural stimulation
- **Intervention Types:** OTHER

## Summary For Families

The goal is to map how reward signaling in the caudate is altered in Parkinson's, because those changes can affect motivation, decision making, and how people respond to treatments. During awake deep brain stimulation surgery at Vanderbilt, researchers will record electrical activity from the caudate and deliver brief, controlled neural stimulation while you do simple tasks, to see how reward circuits fire and react; those recordings can help guide better DBS targeting or future therapies. This work is observational and mapping-focused, not a new drug or long-term treatment. The study is for people age 40 and older with Parkinson's or another movement disorder who are already scheduled for DBS under local anesthesia with an electrode path that contacts the caudate, and who can follow instructions and speak English.

## Eligibility

- **Minimum age:** 40 Years
- **Sex:** ALL

### Full Criteria

```
Inclusion Criteria:

* Scheduled to undergo deep brain stimulation surgery under local anesthesia at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
* Planned clinical electrode trajectory that contacts caudate
* Age greater than or equal to 40
* Diagnosis of Parkinson's disease or other movement disorder
* Able to participate in intraoperative testing
* English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

* Age less than 40
* Not able to participate in intraoperative testing (for example unable to comprehend instructions or follow directions)
```

## Locations (1)

- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, United States _(36.1659, -86.7844)_
  - Isabel Long, BS — (CONTACT) — 615-421-3046 — isabel.long@vumc.org
  - Sarah Bick, MD — (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)

## Central Contacts

- Isabel Long, BS — (CONTACT) — 615-421-3046 — isabel.long@vumc.org
- Sarah Bick, MD — (CONTACT) — 615-343-9822 — sarah.bick@vumc.org

---

*Canonical: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07409207*  
*HTML version: https://parkinsonspathways.com/trial/NCT07409207*  
*Source data: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07409207*