Electroconvulsive therapy often evokes inaccurate images of seizing bodies and smoking ears. Better understanding of how it reduces depression symptoms can illuminate new ways to treat mental illness.
Deep brain stimulation can alleviate treatment-resistant depression for some patients.
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Deep brain stimulation can help some people with treatment-resistant depression feel better, but it can be unclear whether a bout of low mood is a relapse or a bad day.
A meta-analysis helps resolve conflicting evidence on the benefits of tACS.
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Transcranial alternating current stimulation, or tACS, is a type of brain stimulation that can change neural activity and improve memory, attention and executive function.
Researchers are working on untangling the neural circuitry of chronic and acute pain.
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Pain has long been subjectively measured, leading to frustrations for patients and doctors alike. Identifying neural biomarkers of pain could improve diagnosis and lead to better treatments of chronic pain conditions.
Advances in artificial intelligence and technology have allowed researchers to better explore the mechanisms behind neurostimulation.
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Existing brain connections may influence the effectiveness of neurostimulation. Tailoring treatments to each individual brain could expand the number of conditions brain stimulation can treat.
The brain responds differently to natural touch on a finger versus a direct electrical stimulation.
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When designing neuroprosthetic devices for users to control with their thoughts, engineers must take into account the sensory information brains collect from the environment and how it gets processed.
Distraction or performance enhancer?
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From dementia to depression to drug addiction, artificial brain stimulation has been hailed as a landmark medical technology for the future. But safeguards are needed if we want the benefits without the risks.
We know things like exercise can increase our brain function, but taking a pill would require less effort.
Dr. Zahra Moussavi tests a device that stimulates the brain with magnetic pulses. The experimental technology can temporarily roll back effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
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When Zahra Moussavi’s mother developed Alzheimer’s, the scientist pursued a technology that directly stimulates the brain with electromagnets to mitigate the effects of the disease. It worked.
Inspiration can come when we least expect it.
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Shelly Fan, University of California, San Francisco
Tinkering with the brain’s electrical field shows tantalizing promise for boosting memory, but it doesn’t always work. A new study offers one reason why.
About half of studies of some types of brain stimulation cannot be reproduced. So, how do we know if these work?
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People who electrically stimulate their brains at home need more information to do it safely… and neuroscience needs to find out more about how and why they do it.
Think hard before taking it to the next level.
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Brain stimulating headsets are being enthusiastically taken up by gamers aiming to boost performance. But there are risks, particularly for children or those vulnerable to mental health problems.
For people with severe depression, incorrect application can worsen their condition or cause memory loss.
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Around 350 million people worldwide have depression. Antidepressant medications are often prescribed to treat the condition, alongside talking therapies and lifestyle changes such as regular exercise…
The practice of physically stimulating the brain in order to alleviate symptoms of illness and injury has been around since the early 20th century. For example, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is still…