With the amount of stress every individual is facing today, may it be in terms of money, family, career, exams, relationships, or any other facet, depression is becoming a common condition, more than ever before! Scientists are thus finding a way to reduce the symptoms of depression among people so as to save innumerous lives that are spent completely wasted crying over things that shouldn’t be costing a life.
With continuous efforts being put in, researchers have now found that with a weak alternating electrical current being sent through electrodes attached to the scalp, a naturally occurring electrical pattern can be targeted in a specific part of the brain, which can significantly improve depression symptoms in about 70% of people. This research has laid the groundwork for larger research studies that can use a specific kind of electric brain stimulation called transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to treat people diagnosed with major depression.
The tACS approach may seem to be similar to transcranial direct stimulation (tDCS), which sends a steady stream of weak electricity through electrodes attached to various parts of the brain, but it is a much newer approach. It focuses on an individual’s specific alpha oscillations, which appear as waves between 8 to 12 Hz on an electroencephalogram (EEG). The waves in this range rise when the candidate closes his eyes, meditates, daydreams, or conjures ideas; in short, when the brain shuts out sensory stimuli like seeing, hearing, and feeling.
The study has been carried out on only 32 people yet, but after the success seen, it has been determined that lots and lots of depression patients can now be treated in a way that is safe and also relatively inexpensive and non-invasive, through tACS. The 32 participants were then separated into three groups, wherein one group received a brief electrical stimulus to mimic the sensation at the beginning of a tACS session, the second group received a 40 Hz tACS intervention, and the third group received a 10 Hz tACS electrical current. Each individual underwent the invention for 40 minutes on 5 consecutive days, after which they took the MADRS at two weeks, and again at four weeks. The main goal of this study was to assess whether tACS could bring each individual’s alpha waves back into balance and decrease the symptoms of depression for four weeks after the five day intervention. And, with this study, it was found that 70% of people in the treatment group reported at least 50% reduction in the symptoms of depression.
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