Why does a patient have to be awake while the stimulating leads are placed in the brain?
The brain itself has no nerves to sense pain or discomfort. For that reason ,a patient can remain awake and alert and will fell no pain while the leads are being placed ,enabling physicians to test the stimulation to maximize symptom suppression and minimize side effect.During the testing, patients are asked to speak, to move their limbs and hands and to perform simple tasks all while test stimulation is done.
