Jerrold Vitek, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor and Chairperson, Department of Neurology

E-MAIL: [email protected]

Research Interests:

Understanding the pathophysiological basis for the development of Parkinson's disease and dystonia, exploring the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of DBS, clinical trials examining the effect of DBS for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disease, and exploring new applications and brain targets for DBS for neurological and psychiatric disorders.


Selected Publications:

(For a comprehensive list of recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.)

  • Johnson LA, Aman JE, Yu Y, Escobar Sanabria D, Wang J, Hill M, Dharnipragada R, Patriat R, Fiecas M, Li L, Schrock LE, Cooper SE, Johnson MD, Park MC, Harel N, Vitek JL. High-frequency oscillations in the pallidum: A pathophysiological biomarker in Parkinson's disease? Mov Disord. 2021 Jun;36(6):1332-1341.
  • Schrock LE, Patriat R, Goftari M, Kim J, Johnson MD, Harel N, Vitek JL. 7T MRI and computational modeling supports a critical role of lead location in determining outcomes for deep brain stimulation: A case report. Front Hum Neurosci. 2021 Feb 11;15:631778.
  • Yu Y, Escobar Sanabria D, Wang J, Hendrix CM, Zhang J, Nebeck SD, Amundson AM, Busby ZB, Bauer DL, Johnson MD, Johnson LA, Vitek JL. Parkinsonism alters beta burst dynamics across the basal ganglia-motor cortical network. J Neurosci. 2021 Mar 10;41(10):2274-2286.
  • Escobar Sanabria D, Johnson LA, Yu Y, Busby Z, Nebeck S, Zhang J, Harel N, Johnson MD, Molnar GF, Vitek JL. Real-time suppression and amplification of frequency-specific neural activity using stimulation evoked oscillations. Brain Stimul. 2020 Oct 6;13(6):1732-1742.
  • Vitek JL, Starr PA. Studies of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease. Lancet Neurol. 2020 Oct;19(10):807-808.
  • Vitek JL, Jain R, Chen L, Tröster AI, Schrock LE, House PA, Giroux ML, Hebb AO, Farris SM, Whiting DM, Leichliter TA, Ostrem JL, San Luciano M, Galifianakis N, Verhagen Metman L, Sani S, Karl JA, Siddiqui MS, Tatter SB, Ul Haq I, Machado AG, Gostkowski M, Tagliati M, Mamelak AN, Okun MS, Foote KD, Moguel-Cobos G, Ponce FA, Pahwa R, Nazzaro JM, Buetefisch CM, Gross RE, Luca CC, Jagid JR, Revuelta GJ, Takacs I, Pourfar MH, Mogilner AY, Duker AP, Mandybur GT, Rosenow JM, Cooper SE, Park MC, Khandhar SM, Sedrak M, Phibbs FT, Pilitsis JG, Uitti RJ, Starr PA. Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation with a multiple independent constant current-controlled device in Parkinson's disease (INTREPID): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, sham-controlled study. Lancet Neurol. 2020 Jun;19(6):491-501.
  • Lungu C, Ozelius L, Standaert D, Hallett M, Sieber BA, Swanson-Fisher C, Berman BD, Calakos N, Moore JC, Perlmutter JS, Pirio Richardson SE, Saunders-Pullman R, Scheinfeldt L, Sharma N, Sillitoe R, Simonyan K, Starr PA, Taylor A, Vitek J. Defining research priorities in dystonia. Neurology 2020 Mar 24;94(12):526-537.
  • Aman JE, Johnson LA, Sanabria DE, Wang J, Patriat R, Hill M, Marshall E, MacKinnon CD, Cooper SE, Schrock LE, Park MC, Harel N, Vitek JL. Directional deep brain stimulation leads reveal spatially distinct oscillatory activity in the globus pallidus internus of Parkinson's disease patients. Neurobiol Dis. 2020 Feb 20:104819.
  • Johnson LA, Wang J, Nebeck SD, Zhang J, Johnson MD, Vitek JL. Direct activation of primary motor cortex during subthalamic but not pallidal deep brain stimulation. J Neurosci. 2020;40(10):2166-2177.
  • Vitek JL, Johnson LA. Understanding Parkinson's disease and deep brain stimulation: Role of monkey models. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Dec 23. pii: 201902300.
  • Zhang S, Connolly AT, Madden LR, Vitek JL, Johnson MD. High-resolution local field potentials measured with deep brain stimulation arrays. J Neural Eng. 2018;15(4):046019.
  • Hendrix CM, Campbell BA, Tittle BJ, Johnson LA, Baker KB, Johnson MD, Molnar GF, Vitek JL. Predictive encoding of motor behavior in the supplementary motor area is disrupted in parkinsonism. J Neurophysiol. 2018;120:1247-1255.
  • Patriat R, Cooper SE, Duchin Y, Niederer J, Lenglet C, Aman J, Park MC, Vitek JL, Harel N. Individualized tractography-based parcellation of the globus pallidus pars interna using 7T MRI in movement disorder patients prior to DBS surgery. Neuroimage. 2018;178:198-209.
  • Xiao Y, Agnesi F, Bello EM, Zhang S, Vitek JL, Johnson MD. Deep brain stimulation induces sparse distributions of locally modulated neuronal activity. Sci Rep. 2018 Feb 1;8(1):2062. 
  • Ramirez-Zamora A, Giordano JJ, Gunduz A, Brown P, Sanchez JC, Foote KD, Almeida L, Starr PA, Bronte-Stewart HM, Hu W, McIntyre C, Goodman W, Kumsa D, Grill WM, Walker HC, Johnson MD, Vitek JL, Greene D, Rizzuto DS, Song D, Berger TW, Hampson RE, Deadwyler SA, Hochberg LR, Schiff ND, Stypulkowski P, Worrell G, Tiruvadi V, Mayberg HS, Jimenez-Shahed J, Nanda P, Sheth SA, Gross RE, Lempka SF, Li L, Deeb W, Okun MS. Evolving applications, technological challenges and future opportunities in neuromodulation: Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Deep Brain Stimulation Think Tank. Front Neurosci. 2017;11:734. 
  • Escobar Sanabria D, Johnson LA, Nebeck SD, Zhang J, Johnson MD, Baker KB, Molnar GF, Vitek JL. Parkinsonism and vigilance: alteration in neural oscillatory activity and phase-amplitude coupling in the basal ganglia and motor cortex. J Neurophysiol. 2017;118(5):2654-2669.
  • Wang J, Johnson LA, Jensen AL, Baker KB, Molnar GF, Johnson MD, Vitek JL. Network-wide oscillations in the parkinsonian state: alterations in neuronal activities occur in the premotor cortex in parkinsonian nonhuman primates. J Neurophysiol. 2017;117(6):2242-2249.
  • Muralidharan A, Zhang J, Ghosh D, Johnson MD, Baker KB, Vitek JL. Modulation of neuronal activity in the motor thalamus during GPi-DBS in the MPTP nonhuman primate model of Parkinson's disease. Brain Stimul. 2017;10(1):126-138.
  • Connolly A, Vetter R, Hetke J, Teplitzky B, Kipke D, Pellinene D, Anderson D, Baker K, Vitek J, Johnson M. A novel lead design for modulation and sensing of deep brain structures. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2016;63(1):148-57.
  • Connolly AT, Muralidharan A, Hendrix C, Gupta R, Stanslaski S, Denison T, Baker KB, Vitek JL, and Johnson MD. Local field potential recordings in a non-human primate model of Parkinson's disease using the Activa® PC+S. J Neural Eng. 2015 Dec;12(6):066012.
  • Agnesi F, Muralidharan A, Baker KB, Vitek JL, Johnson MD. Fidelity of frequency and phase entrainment of circuit-level spike activity during DBS. J Neurophysiol. 2015;114(2):825-34.
  • Zitella LM, Teplitzky BA, Yager P, Hudson HM, Brintz K, Duchin Y, Harel N, Vitek JL, Baker KB, Johnson MD. Subject-specific computational modeling of DBS in the PPTg area. Front Comput Neurosci. 2015 Jul 14;9:93.
  • Connolly AT, Jensen AL, Baker KB, Vitek JL, Johnson MD. Classification of pallidal oscillations with increasing parkinsonian severity. J Neurophysiol. 2015 Jul;114(1):209-18.
  • Zitella LM, Xiao Y, Teplitzky BA, Kastl DJ, Duchin Y, Baker KB, Vitek JL, Adriany G, Yacoub E, Harel N, Johnson MD. In Vivo 7T MRI of the Non-Human Primate Brainstem. PLoS One. 2015 May 12;10(5):e0127049.
  • Connolly AT, Jensen AL, Bello EM, Netoff TI, Baker KB, Johnson MD, Vitek JL. Modulations in oscillatory frequency and coupling in globus pallidus with increasing parkinsonian severity. J Neurosci. 2015;35(15):6231-40.
  • Pulliam CL, Heldman DA, Orcutt TH, Mera TO, Giuffrida JP, Vitek JL. Motion sensor strategies for automated optimization of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2015;21(4):378-82.
  • Johnson LA, Xu W, Baker KB, Zhang J, Vitek JL. Modulation of motor cortex neuronal activity and motor behavior during subthalamic nucleus stimulation in the normal primate. J Neurophysiol. 2015;113:2549-54.
  • Volkmann J, Mueller J, Deuschl G, Kühn AA, Krauss JK, Poewe W, Timmermann L, Falk D, Kupsch A, Kivi A, Schneider GH, Schnitzler A, Südmeyer M, Voges J, Wolters A, Wittstock M, Müller JU, Hering S, Eisner W, Vesper J, Prokop T, Pinsker M, Schrader C, Kloss M, Kiening K, Boetzel K, Mehrkens J, Skogseid IM, Ramm-Pettersen J, Kemmler G, Bhatia KP, Vitek JL, Benecke R; DBS study group for dystonia. Pallidal neurostimulation in patients with medication-refractory cervical dystonia: a randomised, sham-controlled trial. Lancet Neurol. 2014;13(9):875-84.
Picture of Jerrold Vitek