Brain Implant Helps Man Feel Joy After Decades

Fast Summary

• A man with severe depression for over three decades, resistant to 20 prior treatments including antidepressants and therapies, experienced remission after receiving a personalized brain stimulation implant.
• Researchers mapped the man’s brain networks using MRI and identified unusually large activity in the salience network, likely contributing to his symptoms.
• Electrodes implanted into four key brain networks delivered targeted electrical pulses that produced important emotional relief and increased focus.
• Following surgery, the man utilized a “brain pacemaker” powered by batteries to receive ongoing stimulation throughout his day. Improvements were observed within weeks post-surgery, including cessation of suicidal thoughts. Remission was achieved by 9 months post-treatment and sustained over two-and-a-half years.
• Experts regard this as a promising proof-of-concept for personalized treatment-resistant depression but caution that broader randomized trials are needed to validate its safety and efficacy.