Background: Stereotactic neurosurgery is a well-developed and accepted treatment for movement disorders like Parkinson's disease.
Objective: Review use of this neurosurgical intervention to treat drug addiction since the 1960s.
Methods: Literature review of case and series reports.
Results: Stereotactic neurosurgery has shown promising results in reducing drug addiction, but it has also caused severe side effects. Thus, surgeons have sought to refine the stereotactic lesion procedure and its target over the past 50 years.
Conclusions and significance: Recent developments in stereotactic technique and deep brain stimulation (DBS) may make stereotactic neurosurgery a viable and reversible treatment for drug addiction.