UCSF scientists have successfully treated a patient with severe depression by identifying the personal pattern of brain activity leading to their suffering and using a “brain pacemaker” to restore it to its natural rhythm.
DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation) for mood; can elicit joy with precise placement of electrode; 2mm over, and you might see fear
First patient had TRD, cured with DBS sensing electrode in the amygdala looking for the pattern that signals the onset of her depression, which triggers a second electrode in the ventral striatum — involved in emotion, motivation, and reward, where stimulation consistently eliminated her feelings of depression. None of this is felt or perceived by the patient.
Can detect the precursor to depression before they experience it.
Patient: “Within a few weeks, the suicidal thoughts just disappeared. Then it was just a gradual process where it was like my lens on the world changed.” She smiled for the first time in five years.
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