Business · Wired
A Brain Implant for Depression Is About to Be Tested in Humans
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The latest brain-computer interface could help people recover from severe depression.
Key facts
- The Houston-based startup, founded in 2022, is part of a budding industry pursuing technology to read and interpret brain signals
- A much milder form of stimulation known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, was approved in 2008
- Motif’s device can be implanted in a 20-minute outpatient procedure without the need for brain surgery
- Deep brain stimulation, which involves surgically implanting electrodes into the brain, is occasionally used experimentally but is not FDA approved
Summary
The Houston-based startup, founded in 2022, is part of a budding industry pursuing technology to read and interpret brain signals. The company’s device is implanted in the skull above the dura, the brain’s protective membrane. Motif’s device would allow patients to receive therapeutic brain stimulation at home. Electrical stimulation has been used for decades to treat depression, and Motif’s approach is the latest iteration. A much milder form of stimulation known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, was approved in 2008. A study from 2021 found that during a 12-month period in the United States, nearly 9 million adults were undergoing treatment for major depressive disorder, and of those, almost 3 million were considered to have treatment-resistant depression, when symptoms do not improve after at least two, and often more, antidepressant medications.