Brain stimulation technique shows significant reduction in depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms

The results showed both immediate reductions in amygdala activity, and after three weeks of daily sessions, patients experienced clinically significant improvements in negative affect and symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD.

Gregory Fonzo, Ph.D. is senior author of the study and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Dell Medical School – University of Texas at Austin.

The researcher said: “What makes this approach revolutionary is that it’s the first time we’ve been able to directly modulate deep brain activity without invasive procedures or medications.

“For decades, the amygdala has been a target of interest, but access has required either brain surgery or indirect approaches through cortical stimulation.

“This technology opens a new frontier in psychiatric treatment, potentially offering relief to patients who haven’t responded to traditional therapies.

“Participants showed marked improvements across a range of symptoms after just three weeks of daily treatments.”

The treatment was well tolerated with no serious adverse events, suggesting a promising safety profile as researchers move toward larger clinical trials.

In February, University of Nottingham researchers received £2.4m in funding to develop new noninvasive brain stimulation interventions for patients with a wide range of conditions including depression, schizophrenia and Tourette’s syndrome.

The team will test the effect of novel ultrasound or magnetic stimulation approaches and study what biological changes ultrasound stimulation causes.

They will also try to predict intervention outcomes, and test brain function improvements in patients with psychiatric (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression) and neurological (tics disorder) disorders.