The latest brain-computer interface could facilitate people overcome severe depression. Motif Neurotech announced Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a human study to test the company’s blueberry-sized brain implant that sits in the skull and delivers electrical stimulation to treat depression.
The Houston-based startup, founded in 2022, is part of a growing industry seeking technology to read and interpret brain signals. While other companies exploring similar technology, such as Neuralink, Paradromics and Elon Musk’s Synchron, are developing devices that allow paralyzed people to communicate and apply computers, Motif’s goal is to alleviate depression in people who have not benefited from medication.
The company’s device is implanted in the skull just above the dura mater, the protective membrane of the brain. It targets the central executive network, a part of the brain responsible for high-level cognitive functions that is deficient in major depressive disorder. The implant emits specific stimulation patterns to “turn on” this network.
The Motif device would allow patients to receive therapeutic brain stimulation at home. “We think that with frequent electrical stimulation we can encourage neuroplasticity, which creates stronger connectivity in the central executive network in depressed patients so they can get out of bed in the morning, call friends and go to the gym,” says Jacob Robinson, co-founder and CEO of Motif.
Courtesy of Motif
Electrical stimulation has been used for decades to treat depression, and the Motif approach is just the latest iteration. Electroconvulsive, or “shock,” therapy began in the 1930s and is still used in cases where patients do not benefit from antidepressants. Deep brain stimulation, which involves surgically implanting electrodes in the brain, is sometimes used experimentally but is not approved by the FDA. In 2008, a much milder form of stimulation was approved, known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS. Although it can be very effective, it usually requires a long-term treatment regimen of five treatments per week for six weeks.
AND research from 2021 found that over a 12-month period in the United States, nearly 9 million adults were receiving treatment for major depressive disorder, and of those, nearly 3 million were considered to have treatment-resistant depression, when symptoms do not improve with at least two, and often more, antidepressants.
The Motif device can be implanted in a 20-minute outpatient procedure, without the need for brain surgery. It is powered by wireless magnetoelectric technology developed by Robinson at Rice University and is charged with a baseball cap that patients will wear during stimulation.