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Updated October 5th, 2021 at 20:33 IST

Women cured of depression as experimental brain implant help her laugh after 5 years

The device works on deep brain simulations (DBS) where it automatically interrupts the brain activity patterns linked to depression, using simulated signals.

Reported by: Harsh Vardhan
depression
Image: Twitter/@NeurosurgUCSF | Image:self
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Generating hope for millions suffering from mental illnesses, doctors at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) have successfully treated a woman who was diagnosed with severe depression with the help of an experimental brain implant. As for the 36-year-old woman named Sarah, she said that the treatment made her able to laugh after five long years, as per The Guardian. 

Sarah’s recovery from depression

The device used on the woman works on deep brain simulations (DBS) where it automatically interrupts the brain activity patterns linked to depression, using tiny simulated electrical signals in the brain.  

While talking to The Guardian, Sarah revealed that once she received simulated signals in her brain, she burst into laughter as she felt a joyous sensation in her brain. She revealed that it was the first time she laughed after living with depression for the last five years. 

Sarah also underwent a second round of invasive surgery, when the device was implanted in her brain. The device was accompanied by a battery unit that detected the depressive activities in the amygdala region of her brain. 

While this was going on, the woman’s mood associated with the amygdala was also being monitored. The experts found that impulses produced by the device and sent to the brain’s ventral striatum area created a significant improvement in Sarah’s mood. In simple terms, the device senses depression-related activities in the amygdala and sends simulated signals to the ventral striatum. Sarah reportedly said that the impulses induced more positivity and alertness, something that she had not experienced for a long time. 

Significance of the device’s success

The success of this device can prove to be a major breakthrough as scientists believe that severe depression can be nullified by treatment. They discovered that even those living with severe mental ailments for years can be brought back to a healthy state by minor manipulations of the brain circuits. 

However, the device has only been tested on one patient and the UCSF are expanding their area of trials to more patients. Moreover, it is estimated to cost over Rs 25 lakhs and is an adapted model of the NeuroPace RNS System, a device used to treat epilepsy.

Image: Twitter/@NeurosurgUCSF

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Published October 5th, 2021 at 20:33 IST

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