Deep Brain Stimulation for Psychiatric Disorders

Abstract

Medications, psychotherapy, and other treatments are effective for many patients with psychiatric disorders. However, with currently available interventions, a substantial number of patients experience incomplete resolution of symptoms, and relapse rates are high. In the search for better treatments, increasing interest has focused on focal neuromodulation. This focus has been driven by improved neuroanatomical models of mood, thought, and behavior regulation, as well as by more advanced strategies for directly and focally altering neural activity. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is one of the most invasive focal neuromodulation techniques available; data have supported its safety and efficacy in a number of movement disorders. Investigators have produced preliminary data on the safety and efficacy of DBS for several psychiatric disorders, as well. In this review, we describe the development and justification for testing DBS for various psychiatric disorders, carefully consider the available clinical data, and briefly discuss potential mechanisms of action.

Serotonin and beyond: therapeutics for major depression

“…Deep brain stimulation is another novel, yet still experimental, approach to treat refractory MDD. Thus far, stimulations at high frequencies of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex have been the most studied [62]. Consistent with the attenuated hyperactivity that decreases with effective antidepressant treatments, deep brain stimulation also produces the same phenomenon.…”

Advanced research on deep brain stimulation in treating mental disorders (Review)

“…The pulse stimulation is conducted from the generator to the electrode in the location of interest in the deep brain ( Fig. 1) (6). DBS has been used as a treatment for mental diseases since 1987 (7).…”

Self-Tracking Energy Transfer for Neural Stimulation in Untethered Mice

“…In many neuroscience experiments, neural activity is manipulated either electrically or optically using wires or optical fibers inserted into the brain [2][3][4]. Such tethered systems, however, do not permit free movement, protrude beyond the skin, and limit the environments in which experiments can be performed.…”

“…5(a)] [3,22]. The device uses the same coil structure in Fig 4(a), but with a load consisting of a half-wave rectifier directly connected to thin magnet wire (34-gauge) electrodes [ Fig.…”