Thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation for the Treatment of Refractory Tourette Syndrome

This research is being performed to try to understand if the use of deep brain stimulation or DBS can treat the symptoms of Tourette syndrome that do not respond well to current medications. In order to do this the investigators will place small stimulation leads on both sides of the brain in a region (a portion of the thalamus) that may alter the abnormal activity in the brain contributing to the symptoms of Tourette syndrome. This requires two surgical procedures, and several preoperative and postoperative visits for tuning the stimulation parameters and recording stimulation effects. The FDA has not approved DBS for use in people with Tourette syndrome, and Medtronic (the manufacturer of the device) has not conducted testing for the system in Tourette syndrome. Therefore its use in this study is experimental.