Pacemaker technology is an offshoot of the space program, and there are many new offshoots of the pacemaker. One exciting new application for the basic implantable pulse generator is the "brain pacemaker."
Physicians in Heidelberg, Germany, have been studying severe clinical depression and believe that it is related to the habenula, a tiny nerve network within the brain. It appears that when the habenula becomes overactive, the person gets depressed; likewise, when the habenula calms down, the depression lifts.
Credit for this theory goes to Dr. Alexander Sartorius who works at the Brookhaven National Laboratories in New York. The next challenge was how to take that insight and translate it into a medical therapy.
A pacemaker-like device was developed. The pulse generator was implanted in the chest, like a regular cardiac pacemaker, and leads plugged into the pulse generator. But these leads did not go to the heart. Instead, the leads went upward into the brain so that the electrodes could stimulate brain tissue.
Dr. Karl Kiening of Heidelberg University Hospital performed the delicate surgery in the first-ever implant in January 2010 to treat depression. Such "brain pacemakers" already exist to treat Parkinson's Disease and other disorders.
The electrodes send out low-voltage pulses to stimulate certain areas of the brain, much as a heart pacemaker sends out low-voltage pulses to stimulate cardiac tissue.
The patient who underwent the first implant for depression had good results. In fact, when her pacemaker was turned off because she had to undergo a different, unrelated medical procedure, her depression returned but was banished as soon as her brain pacemaker was reactivated.
The medical name for this technique is "deep brain stimulation." While results are good and the technology for this kind of device exists, the biggest obstacle is that the surgery requires pinpoint accuracy to get the electrodes in the proper position.. Furthermore, the habenula are located in the center of the brain, making surgical access particular challenging.
While it may seem counterintuitive, stimulating the habenula appears to have a calming effect on these little nerves.
