Minimally Invasive Neural Stimulation for Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder

Recent studies demonstrate the effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of drug resistant major depressive disorder, but the mechanical invasiveness of DBS has so far impeded its FDA–approval as a standard treatment for drug resistant depression. This project is developing a minimally invasive method for neural stimulation to address a need for drug-free therapy for severely depressed patients. Our proposed method will combine electromagnetic field with nanoscale antennae to evoke neural activity. The proposed anntennae are similar to the FDA approved MRI contrast agents, so it is possible envision future anti-depression therapy akin to a routine MRI scan.