Neuroengineering meets neuroethics to address treatment-resistant depression

Dr. Maryam Shanechi. Credit: USC Viterbi ___________________ Is This the Future of Mental Health? (USC Viterbi School of Engineering): “Brain–machine interfaces (BMIs) provide a direct pathway to the brain to translate brain signals into actions … Below, Shanechi (Note: Maryam Shanechi, PhD, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering) answers some questions about her work and what the future might hold for our understanding and treatment of mental disorders. What potential does this hold for the future not just of mental health, but of understanding our brains as a whole? Neuropsychiatric disorders are a major cause of disability worldwide with depressive disorders being the most disabling among them. About 30% of major depression patients are treatment-resistant – that’s about 5 million people in the US alone. Having an alternative therapy in the form of a BMI that selectively targets brain signals that are the cause of emotional dysfunction can revolutionize treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders. But BMIs are not just a tool to cure mental disorders, they’re a tool for discovery about mental health in general. BMIs can help us better understand the neural mechanisms of emotion regulation (how we start, stop, or change the trajectory of our emotions). One way to do this is to have participants engage in emotion regulation while we monitor their brain signals to study these fundamental questions. Brain regions predictive of mood. Credit: Sani et...
Source: SharpBrains - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Cognitive Neuroscience Health & Wellness Technology brain health brain signals brain-machine interfaces depressive disorders emotion regulation engineering future Maryam Shanechi mental health neural Neuroethics neuropsychiatri Source Type: blogs