Gene therapy reduces Parkinson’s disease symptoms by reorganizing functional brain connectivity

-related pattern (GADRP), which reflected the formation of new polysynaptic functional pathways linking the STN to motor cortical regions. Patients in both the treatment group and the sham group expressed the previously reported placebo network (the sham surgery-related pattern or SSRP) when blinded to the treatment received. However, only the appearance of the GADRP correlated with clinical improvement in the gene therapy-treated subjects. Treatment-induced brain circuits can thus be useful in clinical trials for isolating true treatment responses and providing insight into their underlying biological mechanisms.