Radio frequency (RF) lesioning and deep brain stimulation (DBS) are the two prevailing surgical treatments for movement disorders within the field of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery. For RF-lesioning, a small volume of brain tissue is coagulated and knowledge of the lesion size and growth is of great importance for the safety and outcome of the procedure. This thesis deals with adapting the laser Doppler perfusion monitoring (LDPM) technique for measurements in brain tissue during RF-lesioning. The relation between LDPM signal changes and developed lesion size was investigated. LDPM measurements were evaluated both in vitro (albumin protein solution) and in vivo in the porcine brain during RF-lesioning corresponding to a bilateral thalamotomy in man. The investigated signals from the LDPI measurements can be used for following the lesioning time course and to detect if a lesion was created, both in vitro and in the animal model. For the albumin model, both the total backscattered light intensity and the perfusion signal can be used as markers for estimating the final coagulation size, while in the animal model this conclusion was not statistical verified. Independent on surgical method, RF-lesioning or DBS, intracerebral guidance is an important aspect within stereotactic and functional neurosurgery. To increase the accuracy and precision of reaching the correct target, different methods for intracerebral guidance exist, such as microelectrode recording and impedance methods. In this thesis, the possibility of developing an optical intracerebral guidance method has been investigated. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy served as technology and all measurements were performed stereotactically in both porcine and human brain. Measurements of white and gray matter showed large differences, with higher reflectivity for white brain matter, both in porcine and in human brain. For the human measurements during DBS-implants, large differences between white matter and functional targets were found. Additionally, differences between native and lesioned porcine brain matter were detected. Both studies support the idea of using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy for developing an intracerebral guidance method.