Ongoing research
Dystonia
Dystonia is a chronic neurological movement disorder, characterized by excessive muscle activity leading to abnormal movement and posture. Dystonia is considered to be a brain network disorder, but the network(s) involved in dystonia are still relatively poorly known. In our ongoing research projects, we investigate the neurobiology of dystonia using MRI and PET imaging, and use brain stimulation to probe potential new treatment targets. Representative publications:
Parkinson’s disease and tremor
Parkinsonism is a symptom complex including slowness of movement, muscle stiffness and rest tremor. Parkinson’s disease is the most common cause of parkinsonism. One of the main differential diagnostic conditions are tremor syndromes. Although are classified as movement disorders, they also are associated with several non-motor symptoms. We have several ongoing projects investigating Parkinson’s disease and tremors, and work in close collaboration with the movement disorders group led by Prof. Valtteri Kaasinen at Turku University Hospital. Representative publications:
addiction
Why some people become addicted to drugs or gambling? Despite decades of research, the brain circuits, neurotransmitter systems and especially effective treatment targets in addiction disorders remain to be characterized. Behavioral (i.e. non-substance) addictions offer a unique opportunity to investigate the neurobiology of addiction without confounding effects of long-lasting substance use. Our research work on this topic mainly focuses on gambling disorder, which is the most well-known type of behavioral addiction. Representative publications:
brain stimulation
Brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS), are increasingly used to treat neurological and psychiatric disorders. Currently, it is possible to stimulate almost any part of the brain but the challenge is to know which. Currently there are efficacious treatment targets only for few brain disorders, and there have been no systematic ways to identify these targets. Together with our colleagues in the North America, Europe and Australia, we are developing new techniques to identify these targets, and studying how brain stimulation changes brain function.Representative publications:
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder, which causes intermittent abnormal brain activity leading to epileptic seizures. The type and symptoms of an epileptic seizure depend on the affected brain region(s) but the abnormal activity can also spread across the whole brain (generalized seizures). Our current work aims to characterize which brain regions are critical for seizure generalization, and could be targeted with treatment. Representative publications: