This is the first part of a series on deep brain stimulation for the treatment of depression.
Introduction
On a hot and sunny day in Manhattan, time froze for John Nelson. He stood on the sidewalk saying goodbye to his three children, who had been picked up by their grandfather from Long Island.
The Darkness of Depression
John is an intelligent and funny middle-aged man living in a charming small town northeast of Philadelphia. He is the father of three active children and has a garage filled with hockey sticks, softball catcher’s pads, golf clubs, balls of all kinds, bikes, skates, a net goal, and a beautiful white motorcycle. He is a coach (hockey and softball) known for handing out “quotations” and the phrase “I’ll give you some life advice.” He is a husband who worries about his wife, who does too much and doesn’t take care of herself. He works in advertising, is a people person, and loves hosting friends around the fire pit.
Introducing Deep Brain Stimulation
I first heard about deep brain stimulation, or DBS, more than a decade ago, in 2010. As a science reporter, I was sitting in a spacious conference room filled with neuroscientists in San Diego. We were listening to a presentation by Helen Mayberg, a neurologist and neuroscientist who was then at Emory University in Atlanta. In her talk, Mayberg led the audience through the scientific rationale for the idea that electrical impulses directed at the brain could alleviate severe depression.
The Darkness of Depression
John is an intelligent and funny middle-aged man living in a charming small town northeast of Philadelphia. He is the father of three active children and has a garage filled with hockey sticks, softball catcher’s pads, golf clubs, balls of all kinds, bikes, skates, a net goal, and a beautiful white motorcycle. He is a coach (hockey and softball) known for handing out “quotations” and the phrase “I’ll give you some life advice.” He is a husband who worries about his wife, who does too much and doesn’t take care of herself. He works in advertising, is a people person, and loves hosting friends around the fire pit.
Deep Brain Stimulation
John is one of dozens of people in the United States currently participating in clinical trials aimed at treating mental health disorders through deep brain implantation. The deep brain stimulation technique is based on the scientific hypothesis that electrical stimulation can reset a brain suffering from debilitating and severe mental disorders such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Darkness of Depression
John is an intelligent and funny middle-aged man living in a charming small town northeast of Philadelphia. He is the father of three active children and has a garage filled with hockey sticks, softball catcher’s pads, golf clubs, balls of all kinds, bikes, skates, a net goal, and a beautiful white motorcycle. He is a coach (hockey and softball) known for handing out “quotations” and the phrase “I’ll give you some life advice.” He is a husband who worries about his wife, who does too much and doesn’t take care of herself. He works in advertising, is a people person, and loves hosting friends around the fire pit.
Searching for Relief
The following article follows John’s journey in seeking relief from the illness he describes as “poison in every part of my body.”
This series has been funded by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Source: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/brain-implant-depression-electrode-stimulation-surgery
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