A lot of research is going around brain implants as a cure for depression. What causes depression? There’s not an exact answer for this. It could be anything; an imbalance in the nerves, genetics, personality, etc. However, the good news is that we do have treatments for depression. As fatal as it sounds, it is a serious condition that shouldn’t be ignored.
There’s so much to uncover about brain implants. Researchers are trying their level best, and guess what? The results are amazingly surprising. However, one may not witness the treatment anytime soon but it will prove immensely fruitful in the future. Electroconvulsive therapy, popularly known as ECT is an effective treatment for depression. Also known as shock therapy, the treatment has evolved a lot. Experts now use general anesthesia and pass electrical currents to various parts of brain.
How Brain Implants Work?
Brain implants work in a similar fashion. There are reports regarding a person who did not respond to any treatment, even the ECT. Scientists implanted a device called NeuroPace RNS into the right hemisphere of his brain. The device showed signs of depression and was useful in providing electric stimulation. However, the process is not as easy as it seems. Scientists had to first look for various stimulating parts in the person’s brain. It is known as “stimulus response mapping”. After discovering those locations, scientists were able to counter the effects of the patient’s depression and sadness. Besides that, they were able to produce feelings of happiness and joy in the person’s ventral striatum.
However, it is important to note here that this study of brain implants was done on just one person. Therefore, it is quite early to come to any conclusion. Moreover, it is too soon to label it as a cure for depression.
