Movement Disorders Program
Rhode Island Hospital

Movement Disorders Research

The Movement Disorders Program conducts world-class research in the neurosciences. Our physicians are on the faculty of The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. In collaboration with the medical school, we are committed to advancing the field of movement disorder diagnosis and treatment. Rhode Island Hospital is also an active clinical trials site.

Our research efforts include:

  • Neuroimaging research: In collaboration with Alpert Medical School, our physicians are investigating the mechanisms of non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease using functional MRI, and using advanced imaging techniques to study how to optimize deep brain stimulation placement for individual patients.
  • Neurophysiology research: Studies are examining how neural activity is related to movement and cognition by combining routine intra-operative neurophysiology with simple behavioral measurements.
  • Deep brain stimulation research: Our program is exploring how deep brain stimulation affects performance on cognitive and motor tasks by testing patients on the same behavioral measurements with the deep brain stimulation system on and off.
  • Clinical trials: In collaboration with Butler Hospital, we enroll patients for multiple industry-sponsored and National Institutes of Health-sponsored clinical trials for a variety of movement disorders. Learn about clinical trials in neurosurgery.
Older woman knitting

Clinical Trials for Movement Disorders

Research is currently being conducted to learn more about movement disorders and how they affect our patients.