Deep brain stimulation of the nucleus accumbens for severe self-injurious behaviour in children: long-term outcomes from a first-in-human pilot trial (opens in new tab)

Children with severe self-injurious behaviour (SIB) are at risk of permanent injury and lack effective treatment options. Neuromodulation of the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key node in reward and behavioural regulation circuits, may directly modulate the drivers of SIB. We report long-term outcomes from a first-in-human, single-centre trial of deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the NAc in children and adolescents with profound autism and treatment-refractory SIB (NCT03982888). Six particip...