It kind of bothers me that psychology books and websites seem to publish more information on rTMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) and DBS (deep brain stimulation) than they do about VNS. VNS is the only one of those treatments that’s been FDA approved — so why aren’t people talking about it more?
I’ve been watching the research on DBS with a lot of interest. It seemed to me that if stimulating a nerve that went up into the brain (as VNS does) was helpful, then directly stimulating the brain would totally be the bomb! But I read an article in the American Psychological Association’s magazine, The Monitor, and I feel a little less enthusiastic.
I thought there had been a lot more research done with DBS — right now a mere 60 people have been treated with it for psychological problems like depression and OCD. Sixty?! That’s a ridiculously low number for them to be touting it as the Next Big Thing.
Plus I don’t like the fact that some people seem to have cognitive impairments afterwards. You can have thinking and memory problems following ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) without having someone drill holes in your skull! (Is this the acronym post or what? *wink*)
To be useful, these approaches really have to be better than existing approaches. The problem with rTMS is that the effects don’t last long. I also don’t get the impression that they’re as powerful as they are with ECT.
The problem with DBS is they have to drill a hole in your skull in addition to implanting a pacemaker-like device in your chest and running wires up your neck (like they do with VNS). I don’t want anybody poking around in my brain unless they’re damn sure they know what they’re doing — and that it’s going to work!
I do think it’s an exciting time in psychology. I keep wondering if eventually some people will be able to move away from medications altogether and we’ll be able to repair malfunctioning parts of the brain with implants like these. I’m still excited about my VNS, and I think it’s cool to be on the cutting edge of modern science. I think it’s even more exciting that they’re just continuing to do research on VNS, and they’re learning more and more about ways to help people with depression with it.
I am extremely hopeful that I will see even more improvements over the next six to eight months with my VNS!
