Researchers are testing deep brain stimulation as a treatment for people with a severe form of depression

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/12224558

A pacemaker for the brain helped a woman with crippling depression

Emily Hollenbeck lived with a deep, recurring depression she likened to a black hole, where gravity felt so strong and her limbs so heavy she could barely move. She knew the illness could kill her. Both of her parents had taken their lives.

She was willing to try something extreme: Having electrodes implanted in her brain as part of an experimental therapy.

Researchers say the treatment —- called deep brain stimulation, or DBS — could eventually help many of the nearly 3 million Americans like her with depression that resists other treatments. It’s approved for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy, and many doctors and patients hope it will become more widely available for depression soon.

  • @TolstoshevEnglish
    13•8 months ago

    If ECT hadn’t worked for me I would try this. It’s actually probably better than ECT on balance because it doesn’t cause amnesia and you don’t have to go in once a month and go under general anesthesia. Once the surgery is done then the maintenance is probably pretty minimal.

    Reminds me of the wireheads from the Known Space series by Larry Niven: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wirehead_(science_fiction)