Interactive Neurosurgical Guide for Health Teaching
Educational Resources for Patients & Families
INSIGHT is a library of interactive, expert-authored guides created by Brown Neurosurgery faculty and team members. Each module explains a condition, procedure, or treatment in-depth with animations, visualizations, and plain language designed to help patients and families make informed decisions.
This resource is also intended to de-mystify neurosurgical care for referring and collaborating clinicians, and to serve as a useful reference for students and trainees.
Search Results
Functional and Epilepsy Neurosurgery
5 guides available
Functional & Epilepsy
Epilepsy Surgery
Drug-resistant epilepsy, surgical evaluation, treatment options, and what to expect.
Open guide →
Functional & Epilepsy
Deep Brain Stimulation
How DBS works for Parkinson's Disease and who might be good candidates for DBS.
Open guide →
Functional & Epilepsy
Focused Ultrasound
Incisionless treatment for essential tremor and Parkinson's Disease using ultrasound energy.
Open guide →
Functional & Epilepsy
OCD Surgery
Surgical options for severe, treatment-resistant OCD, including deep brain stimulation and ablative procedures.
Open guide →
Functional & Epilepsy
Dystonia
Involuntary muscle contractions causing abnormal postures or movement: neurosurgical options including deep brain stimulation and pallidotomy.
Open guide →
Brain Tumor and Skull Base Surgery
Coming soon
Coming Soon
Brain Tumor & Skull Base
Glioma
Types of glioma, craniotomy surgery, awake craniotomy, and what to expect from treatment.
Temporary link (draft) →
Coming Soon
Brain Tumor & Skull Base
Skull Base Tumors & Meningiomas
Meningiomas and other skull base lesions: minimally invasive surgical approaches.
Coming Soon
Brain Tumor & Skull Base
Pituitary Tumors
Pituitary adenomas: vision changes, hormonal effects, and minimally invasive surgical treatment.
Coming Soon
Brain Tumor & Skull Base
Acoustic (Vestibular) Schwannoma
Hearing loss, tinnitus, and imbalance from this benign nerve tumor, and surgical or radiosurgical treatment.
Coming Soon
Brain Tumor & Skull Base
Metastatic Brain Tumors
Brain metastases from cancer elsewhere in the body: evaluation and surgical treatment options.
Coming Soon
Brain Tumor & Skull Base
Brain Biopsy
Stereotactic needle biopsy to diagnose a brain lesion when removing it isn't the right first step.
Coming Soon
Brain Tumor & Skull Base
Awake Craniotomy
Brain surgery performed with the patient briefly awake, so speech, movement, or other function can be mapped and protected in real time.
Spine and Spinal Tumor Neurosurgery
9 guides available
Spine & Spine Tumor
Cervical Disc Disease & Myelopathy
Neck disc herniation and degeneration causing arm symptoms: ACDF, disc replacement, and the nerve localizer.
Open guide →
Spine & Spine Tumor
Thoracic Disc Herniation
Uncommon mid-back disc problems and spinal cord compression: when to watch and how surgery is done.
Open guide →
Spine & Spine Tumor
Lumbar Disc Disease
Herniated discs and sciatica: conservative care, microdiscectomy, endoscopic discectomy, and the nerve root localizer.
Open guide →
Spine & Spine Tumor
Lumbar Spinal Stenosis
Narrowing of the spinal canal and leg symptoms: posture, decompression, and fusion — with interactive tools.
Open guide →
Spine & Spine Tumor
Spondylolisthesis
A slipped vertebra: Meyerding grading, isthmic vs degenerative types, an interactive slip simulator, and decompression/fusion options.
Open guide →
Spine & Spine Tumor
Vertebral Compression Fracture
Collapsed vertebrae: an interactive vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty simulator, bracing to fixation options, and osteoporosis bone-health prevention.
Open guide →
Coming Soon
Spine & Spine Tumor
Chordoma
A rare, slow-growing tumor of the spine and sacrum: symptoms, evaluation, and surgical treatment.
Coming Soon
Spine & Spine Tumor
Metastatic Spine Tumors
Cancer that has spread to the spine: back pain, cord compression, and surgical treatment options.
Spine & Spine Tumor
Spinal Deformity & Scoliosis
A sideways curve of the spine across the lifespan: types of scoliosis, degrees of curvature and the Cobb angle, secondary problems, bracing, and surgical stabilization.
Open guide →
Spine & Spine Tumor
Failed Back Surgery Syndrome
Persistent or recurrent pain after spine surgery: identifying the cause, and options from revision surgery to spinal cord stimulation.
Open guide →
Coming Soon
Spine & Spine Tumor
Primary Spinal Cord Tumors
Rare tumors arising from the spinal cord or its coverings: gradual weakness, numbness, and pain, and surgery to remove or debulk them.
Spine & Spine Tumor
Spine Trauma
Vertebral fractures and spinal cord injury from trauma: an interactive stable-versus-unstable fracture explorer, the ASIA cord-injury scale, and bracing to surgical stabilization.
Open guide →
Vascular and Endovascular Neurosurgery
1 guide available
Coming Soon
Vascular & Endovascular
Stroke and Endovascular Treatment
Sudden brain artery blockage: FAST warning signs, clot-dissolving medication, and endovascular thrombectomy.
Vascular & Endovascular
Brain Aneurysms
What brain aneurysms are, rupture risk, surgical clipping, and endovascular coiling.
Open guide →
Coming Soon
Vascular & Endovascular
Arteriovenous Malformations
AVMs of the brain: risks, treatment options including surgery, radiosurgery, and embolization.
Coming Soon
Vascular & Endovascular
Cavernous Malformations
Cavernomas of the brain: bleeding risk, seizures, and when surgical removal is recommended.
Coming Soon
Vascular & Endovascular
Carotid Stenosis
Narrowing of the neck's carotid artery, stroke and TIA risk, and surgical or stenting treatment.
Coming Soon
Vascular & Endovascular
Middle Meningeal Artery Embolization
Catheter-based embolization to reduce chronic subdural hematoma recurrence, alongside or instead of surgery.
Pediatric and Developmental Neurosurgery
Coming soon
Coming Soon
Pediatric & Developmental
Hydrocephalus in Children
Causes, symptoms, shunt surgery, and endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) in pediatric patients.
Coming Soon
Pediatric & Developmental
Tethered Cord Syndrome
Causes, symptoms, and surgical release for tethered spinal cord in children and adults.
Coming Soon
Pediatric & Developmental
Myelomeningocele and Fetal Neurosurgery
Open neural tube defects, prenatal (fetal) repair, and postnatal surgical management.
Coming Soon
Pediatric & Developmental
Chiari Malformation
Brain tissue extending into the spinal canal: symptoms, evaluation, and surgical decompression.
Temporary link (draft) →
Coming Soon
Pediatric & Developmental
Craniosynostosis
Early fusion of skull sutures affecting head shape: diagnosis, endoscopic strip craniectomy, and cranial vault reconstruction.
Pain Neurosurgery
2 guides available
Coming Soon
Pain
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Severe facial pain from nerve compression: microvascular decompression and radiosurgery options.
Coming Soon
Pain
Cluster Headache
Severe, one-sided headache attacks with eye tearing or nasal congestion: medical treatment first, with nerve stimulation for cases that don't respond.
Pain
Spinal Cord Stimulation
Implanted devices that quiet pain signals for chronic back, leg, or neuropathic pain — with an interactive Pain Signal Simulator.
Open guide →
Pain
Interventional Pain Procedures
Image-guided injections, nerve blocks, and ablation: epidural steroid injections, medial branch blocks, radiofrequency ablation, and trigger point injections — an interactive explorer of what each does and how it works.
Open guide →
Pain
Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) Stimulation
Focused stimulation of the DRG for hard-to-reach, localized nerve pain such as the foot, knee, or groin — with an interactive DRG-vs-SCS comparator.
Open guide →
Hydrocephalus and Cerebrospinal Fluid Disorders
2 guides available
Hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus & Shunt Surgery
Causes of abnormal CSF buildup, VP shunt surgery, endoscopic third ventriculostomy, and monitoring.
Open guide →
Hydrocephalus
Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus
NPH symptoms — gait, memory, and bladder changes — and how shunting can restore function.
Open guide →
Coming Soon
Hydrocephalus
Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (Pseudotumor Cerebri)
Raised pressure around the brain without a clear cause: headaches, pulsing ringing in the ear, and treatment to protect vision.
Coming Soon
Hydrocephalus
Arachnoid Cysts
Fluid-filled sacs present from birth: most need no treatment, but larger or symptomatic cysts can be drained or fenestrated.
Coming Soon
Hydrocephalus
Shunt Malfunction
Recognizing when a hydrocephalus shunt stops working: the return of prior symptoms, evaluation, and revision surgery.
Coming Soon
Hydrocephalus
Spinal Cord Syrinx
A fluid-filled cavity within the spinal cord: sensory loss, hand weakness, and scoliosis, usually treated by fixing the underlying CSF blockage.
Peripheral Nerve Surgery
Coming soon
Coming Soon
Peripheral Nerve
Carpal Tunnel
Median nerve compression at the wrist: non-operative management and surgical release procedures.
Coming Soon
Peripheral Nerve
Brachial Plexus Injuries
Nerve injuries affecting arm and hand function: repair strategies, grafting, and nerve transfers.
Coming Soon
Peripheral Nerve
Occipital Neuralgia
Sharp, shooting pain at the back of the head and scalp: nerve blocks, and surgical treatment options.
Coming Soon
Peripheral Nerve
Meralgia Paresthetica & Other Nerve Entrapments
Numbness and burning from thigh, elbow, and other peripheral nerve entrapments beyond the wrist.
Traumatic Brain Injury
3 guides available
Traumatic Brain Injury
Chronic Subdural Hematoma
A slow brain bleed that builds up over weeks, often after a forgotten fall in an older adult: monitoring versus burr hole drainage.
Open guide →
Traumatic Brain Injury
Acute Traumatic Brain Hemorrhage
Bleeding around or within the brain after head trauma: monitoring versus surgical evacuation.
Open guide →
Traumatic Brain Injury
Craniectomy and Cranioplasty
Removing part of the skull to relieve brain swelling, and later reconstructing it: timing and options.
Open guide →
Traumatic Brain Injury
Concussion
Mild traumatic brain injury: symptoms, recovery timeline, and when post-concussion syndrome needs care.
Open guide →
Traumatic Brain Injury
Skull Fractures
Linear, depressed, and basilar skull fractures: warning signs, imaging, and when surgery is needed.
Open guide →
Traumatic Brain Injury
Coma
Profound unresponsiveness after severe brain injury or illness: evaluation, the Glasgow Coma Scale, and prognosis.
Open guide →
