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Sarah, a 36-year-old woman living in California, had been living with chronic depression for five years. He felt suicidal several times an hour and could not make up his mind about basic questions like what to eat. Nothing he tried to treat had helped, including electroconvulsive therapy.
Then, in June 2020, an implant was placed in his skull that zapped the parts of his brain that were causing the disease. published remarkable results, Nature Medicine today increase the possibility of personalized treatments for people with serious mental illnesses who are not responding to therapy or medication.
“My depression was kept at bay and that allowed me to start rebuilding a life worth living,” Sarah said at a press conference. (Surname not given.)
Setting up the device involved multiple steps. First, a team from the University of California at San Francisco used 10 electrodes to map Sarah’s brain activity. This phase lasted 10 days, and during that time the team found that high levels of activity in a particular part of Sarah’s amygdala predicted the onset of severe depression. They also found that a small burst of electricity to another area of his brain called the ventral striatum significantly improved these symptoms. Later, they placed an implant nerve stimulation set the device to trigger a small electrical pulse in that area when it detects a high level of activity associated with the device and symptoms of depression.
Sarah (pictured above) cannot sense these bursts of electricity, which is fine as they fire up to 300 times a day; each lasts six seconds. The device does not give any zap at night as these lead to feelings of energy and alertness that can affect Sarah’s ability to sleep.
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