A musician who strummed a guitar during brain surgery to treat painful muscle spasms in his hand says he hopes to release his first album next year.

Abhishek Prasad, an IT worker turned musician from Bengaluru, suffered from a disorder called musician's dystonia, which causes involuntary muscle contractions.

In Mr. Prasad's case, three fingers on his left hand would cramp up when he played the guitar.

Mr. Prasad was fully awake during his seven-hour surgery at a private hospital on Thursday, playing his guitar to help doctors identify problem areas on his brain.

“The doctor had told me, 'You need to get your guitar in the operation theatre. I need continuous feedback from you about how are you feeling,'” Mr. Prasad said of his discussions with the neurosurgeon, Dr. Sharan Srinivasan.

Mr. Prasad, who quit his IT job in 2012 to pursue his dream of becoming a musician, said the surgery was successful and he hoped to release his first music album in a year's time.