Deep-brain stimulation for depression
On Sunday morning at New Horizons in Science at Yale -- after some coffee for brain stimulation -- we were treated to our first science talk of the day: on deep-brain stimulation as a treatment for severe depression. Emory University professor of psychiatry and neurology Helen Mayberg, MD , showed us several brain scans she uses to study moods and neural networks. She can tell from these neural images whether you're glad, mad or sad. Then, she targets areas of the brain with what she describes as an "implantation of a very, small wire... with electrodes on the end." The electrodes are guided to wherever she wants it in the brain and an IPG is implanted in the chest. Dr. Mayberg worried about the safety of acute stimulation of areas of the brain. What happens if you stimulate the hypothalamus and it causes a drop in blood pressure? But she couldn't rely on surgeons as "gatekeepers," so she performed intra-operative safety testing. During the testing, patients...