Researchers have identified a biomarker in brain activity reflecting recovery in patients with treatment-resistant depression using deep brain stimulation and AI, promising more personalized treatment approaches.
DBS involves implanting thin electrodes in a specific brain area to deliver small electrical pulses, similar to a pacemaker. Although DBS has been approved and used for movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease for many years, it remains experimental for depression. This study is a crucial step toward using objective data collected directly from the brain via the DBS device to inform clinicians about the patient’s response to treatment.
Helen S. Mayberg, MD, co-senior author of the study, led the first experimental trial of subcallosal cingulate cortex DBS for treatment-resistant depression patients in 2003, demonstrating that it could have clinical benefit. In 2019, she and the Emory team reported the technique had a sustained and robust antidepressant effect with ongoing treatment over many years for previously treatment-resistant patients.