Source: flickr.com
How would you feel if the treatment or medication you were taking had little to no effect in suppressing your symptoms? Unfortunately, this is the case for 1 in 3 patients diagnosed with depression. These patients fall under a category known as treatment-resistant depression. Personalized deep brain stimulation, a promising alternative to conventional treatments, has the potential to solve this problem by allowing physicians to tailor treatments to an individual’s needs.
The Problem
Depression, which is characterized by low mood, is linked to an imbalance of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine neurotransmitters in the brain. It is a common mental illness that affects the way someone feels, thinks, and acts. However, it is important to note that depression varies significantly among individuals and many other factors play a role. As stated by Ben Paul from USC Viterbi School of Engineering,
“Mental disorders can manifest differently in each patient’s brain.”
There is no one single treatment that is able to effectively treat the symptoms of depression among all diagnosed individuals. This makes it hard for physicians to provide the best treatment for their patients.
What is deep brain stimulation?
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical procedure where electrodes are implanted within specific areas of the brain. By electrically stimulating these parts of the brain, physicians can reduce the symptoms associated with depression. The amount of stimulation is controlled by a pacemaker that is placed under skin on the chest.
The video below explains this procedure further and contains an interview with Edi Guyton, a patient who had this surgery:
Source: CNN | Youtube
Promising Alternative: Personalized Deep Brain Stimulation
Even with deep brain stimulation, each patient’s response to treatment will be different. However, one of the pros of deep brain stimulation is that it results in immediate changes. This is the key component that allows physicians to personalize treatment.
Research led by Maryam Shanechi and her team at USC Viterbi School of Engineering have figured out a way to predict and see how an individual’s brain responds to stimulation. This allows physicians to monitor brain regions in real time.
How is this done?
Two tools have been designed:
- Electrical stimulation wave to map brain activity
- Machine-learning techniques that are able to learn the mapped brain activity which is collected during stimulation
The stimulation wave designed by Maryam and her team randomly changes amplitude and frequency of the electrical impulse over time. A change in amplitude and frequency would be the equivalent to changing the milligram dose of a pill. Analysis of brain activity during these changes will allow physicians to arrive at the correct stimulation doses. As a result, physicians will be able to personalize and tailor the deep brain stimulation for the individual.
This treatment can be used to find an effective approach for almost all patients diagnosed with depression. Success within this field of personalized deep brain stimulation will hopefully lead to more application for other mental disorders.
– Samantha Nalliah
