ABSTRACT
Electrical stimulation of the brain has been used as an investigational technique since the days of Horsley and Clarke at the turn of the past century, to activate excitable tissue and determine its function from the resulting physiologic changes (18). The therapeutic use of electrical stimulation in the central nervous system is a relatively recent addition to the armamentarium for the treatment of otherwise intractable pain and suffering, and has been pursued vigorously because of the low potential for side effects and the potential to affect previously untreatable central and deafferentation pain.
