| Department of Neurology 600 N. Highland Avenue Clinical Science Center Madison, WI 53792 www.neurology.wisc.edu |
|
|
|
| 2006 board of regents of the uw system file last updated June 17, 2008 neurology inquiries: www.uwhealth.org web feedback: webmaster@neurology.wisc.edu |
|
Faculty Research
Erwin Montgomery Jr.
Lab Location: Wisconsin National Primate Research Center
Contact Info:
CSC H6/538
Secretary: 608.263.5421
Fax: 608.263.0412
Email: montgomery@neurology.wisc.edu
Faculty Profile: Dr. Montgomery
Publications: PubMed
Provider page: UW Health
Dr. Montgomery's Website
Research
Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
For the last 30 years, Dr. Erwin Montgomery’s research focused on understanding how the brain controls movement and what goes wrong with that control when a person develops Parkinson’s Disease. Nerve cells in the brain send information to the muscles to create movement. That information is in the form of electrical impulses in a manner similar to Morse Code, where the dots and dashes encode information. Unfortunately, the manner in which the brain encodes information in the sequence of electrical impulses is more complex. Dr. Montgomery’s research involves placing electrodes in the brain of laboratory animals and humans undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation surgery. Using these electrodes, Dr. Montgomery can eavesdrop on the conversation the brain cells are having about the intended movement by using advanced computer analyses to decode the conversation. Dr. Montgomery studies laboratory animals that are made Parkinsonian and humans with Parkinson’s and other disorders to understand how the normal information becomes misinformed.
Dr. Montgomery and his colleagues are also studying how DBS works. We know that Parkinson’s Disease is not just a lack of dopamine in the brain, because DBS was effective in cases where dopamine replacement (medication or fetal cell transplantation) had failed. Dr. Montgomery hopes that, by understanding how DBS works and how it is different from medications and fetal or stem cell transplantation, more effective therapies can be developed in the future.
Dr. Montgomery also conducts clinical trials of new experimental medications and treatments. His patients often have opportunities to receive these treatments years before they become generally available.
Links of interest
Wisconsin Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association
American Parkinson Disease Association
Movement Disorders