This device stimulates the vagus nerve with a tiny electric current. It can help boost
powers of concentration enough for patients to lead a normal life.Quickies
U
p to two-thirds of people suffering
from depression don’t respond to
medication. Now, researchers at
Washington University have found that
implanting a device that sends mild
electrical signals to the brain from the
vagus nerve – a nerve that stretches from
the brain to the chest – can improve their
quality of life.
The study involved nearly 600 patients
with depression, whose symptoms could
not be alleviated by four or more
antidepressants. The team implanted
328 of these with vagus nerve
stimulators, while 271 continued with
other treatments. They found that those
with the stimulators improved markedly
in 10 out of 14 quality of life measures,
including physical health, family
relationships and ability to work.
“When evaluating patients withtreatment-resistant depression, we need
to focus more on their overall wellbeing,”
said psychiatrist Prof Charles R Conway,
who led the research. “A lot of patients
are on as many as three, four or five
antidepressant medications, and they’re
just barely getting by. But when you add
a vagus nerve stimulator, it really can
make a big difference in people’s lives.”
Study participant Charles Donovan had
been hospitalised for depression several
times. “Slowly but surely, my mood
brightened. I went from being basically
catatonic to feeling little or no
depression,” he said. “Before the
stimulator, I didn’t want to leave the
house, I couldn’t concentrate to sit and
watch a movie. But after I got the
stimulator, I could do things like read a
book or watch a TV show. Those things
improved my quality of life.” GETTY, MATT MILLER ILLUSTRATION: LAURENT HRYBYKScientists get the Ouija
board out
What did they do?
A team of cognitive scientists from
Denmark’s Aarhus University and
University of Southern Denmark,
and Germany’s Bielefeld University,
attended a conference for Ouija
board users and invited
participants, in pairs, to take part in
a ‘s é a n c e’.Why did they do that?
Previous research has shown that
when a Ouija board is used, one or
more individuals is physically
causing the ‘planchette’ (or more
commonly, glass) to move – but that
those individuals are often unaware
they are doing so. The team wanted
to use eye-tracking equipment to
find out what’s going on.What did they find out?
When subjects were asked to
deliberately spell out a given word,
tracking either individual’s eye
movements would predict the next
letter accurately. In a so-called
‘séance’, no one individual’s eye
movements could predict what the
next letter would be – but combining
those of both subjects could. It is
believed words are therefore
spelled out as the result of a
subconscious joint effort.7 HEALTHNerve stimulation treatment offers hope
for the depressed
A Women are twice as
likely to suffer from
depression as men.
A In men, depression
may become more
prevalent as they get
older and their
testosterone levels
decrease.Shorts