Smart Brain Implants
Can a tiny chip implanted in the brain help control dark or depressive thoughts?
For decades, doctors have been placing small devices in people’s brains to help patients with movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease. But increasingly, physicians have been experimenting with using similar neurological implants in patients with cognitive and emotional disorders like depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
There is strong interest in using these types of neurological prosthetics in returning soldiers who suffer from mental disorders, particularly those who may feel suicidal. A recent study says that veterans from recent wars exhibit significantly higher suicide risk compared with the general population.
The future of implantable wireless devices that are built to treat neurological diseases is taking shape at Massachusetts General Hospital thanks to a $30 million contract with the federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.
BetaBoston caught up with Emad Eskandar, a neurosurgeon at the hospital’s Center for Nervous System Repair. He is working with Darin Dougherty and Alik Widge, among others, on this research. This is a condensed and edited version of that conversation.
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