However, recent research has found that inserting a brain pacemaker into the brain of someone with depression could help alleviate their mood and possibly even cure them of the disease.

The National Institute of Mental Health states that depression affects how a person thinks, feels, goes about their day-to-day life, as well as sleeping patterns, what they eat, and how they work. 

Some of the structural changes to the brain include brain shrinkage, brain inflammation, structural differences, and oxygen restriction.

Emily Hollenbeck has lived with depression for many years, and it is something that runs in the family, as both of her parents died by suicide. No other treatment appeared to be working for her, according to The Associated Press.

The wires had to be surgically implanted into Hollenbeck’s brain, and while she said the concept was overwhelming, she said she felt like she had used all of her other options, so she was willing to try anything.

The treatment is currently being used on people with Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy, and according to Cleveland Clinic, deep brain stimulation is effective in the treatment of them. 

These electrodes are then connected by an internal wire to a device that is placed inside the chest. This is how the electrodes are controlled and help deliver the constant low-voltage pulses.

In brains without depression, electrical activity happens all over, but in depression, it sticks in the emotional part of the brain. Deep brain stimulation is said to help a depressed person’s brain work like a neurotypical person’s brain in this instance.

She said that the results of deep brain stimulation were pretty much instant, and that she was able to enjoy and do things again, such as listening to music, that she hadn’t been able to for a long time. 

A study posted in Neurotherapeutics in 2022 found that deep brain stimulation for depression had a response rate of 60%, but noted that response rates have greatly varied in different patients and studies.

The complications include bleeding, a stroke, or an infection after having the surgery, which is something all those considering the trial should be aware of. 

This is because everyone is different, especially in terms of brain size and function, so what might work for one person when having deep brain stimulation isn’t necessarily going to work for another.

Hollenbeck has admitted that she still has her good and bad days. Doctors say that it’s not necessarily about Hollenbeck and other patients being constantly happy but more about them making progress based on where they were before taking the treatment.