Helen S. Mayberg facts for kids

Helen S. Mayberg (born in California in 1956) is an American neurologist. She is famous for her work on how the brain works differently in people with severe depression.

Her research led to the first study of a treatment called deep brain stimulation (DBS). DBS is a way to gently change how a specific part of the brain works. It helps people with depression that has not responded to other treatments.

As of 2019, Dr. Mayberg has written many scientific articles and books. She also holds a patent for a method to treat mood and anxiety disorders using brain stimulation. She works as a professor at Mount Sinai Medical School and Emory University. Since 2018, she has been the Director of the Nash Family Center for Advanced Circuit Therapeutics at Mount Sinai.

Understanding the Brain and Depression

Dr. Mayberg's research in neurology started with an important idea. She noticed that mental health problems were not always clearly linked to how the brain works. She wanted to create a way to map brain activity. This would help doctors understand and treat mental health conditions more clearly.

She studies depression using special brain scanning tools. These tools include Positron emission tomography (PET) and fMRI. They help her see how the brain works. She also uses other methods to understand brain activity and test treatments for depression.

Dr. Mayberg works to find special signs in brain scans. These signs can help doctors choose the best treatment for each patient. She also focuses on testing deep brain stimulation for depression that is hard to treat. She brings together many experts, like engineers and doctors, to improve this treatment.

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)

Since the 1990s, doctors have used electrical stimulation in parts of the brain. This treatment helps people with conditions like Parkinson's disease. The idea of DBS goes back to the 1930s.

Dr. Mayberg and her team developed a DBS treatment for severe depression. They placed tiny electrodes in a specific brain area called Brodmann area 25. This area is connected to parts of the brain that control feelings and actions related to depression. These include appetite and sleeping habits.

Early results of this treatment were promising. Dr. Mayberg's idea is sometimes called a "pacemaker for the brain." It uses small electrical pulses to help correct both the causes and symptoms of depression. Current research looks at why DBS works for some patients but not others.

One study led by Dr. Mayberg showed something interesting. During surgery, a brief moment of stimulation changed brain activity. This change was seen as a decrease in certain brain waves, called beta waves. This change happened quickly and was linked to a lasting reduction in depression symptoms. This suggests that reducing beta waves could be a sign that DBS is working.

Research Funding

Dr. Mayberg's important research is supported by various grants. These grants help her team continue to explore new ways to understand and treat brain disorders. She has been the main researcher for many large projects.

Discussions and Ethics

Dr. Mayberg has also been involved in important discussions about brain research.

Meditation and Brain Health

In 2017, Dr. Mayberg met with the 14th Dalai Lama to talk about meditation. They discussed how meditation might affect the brain. The Dalai Lama wondered if the brain controls the mind, or if it works the other way around.

Dr. Mayberg explained how DBS helps people with severe depression. They thought that meditation could improve brain waves important for mental health. However, for people with very severe depression, a biological treatment like DBS might be needed first. This could help them get to a point where they can even begin to meditate.

Brain Science and Identity

One important question about DBS is whether it changes a patient's identity. Some worry it might cause unwanted emotional changes. However, Dr. Mayberg points out that severely depressed people often feel like they have lost their true selves. DBS might help remove the barriers that cause this feeling, helping them regain their identity.

In 2014, Dr. Mayberg spoke to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. She shared her experiences with the ethics of brain treatments. She stressed that severely depressed patients are usually able to make good decisions. She believes there needs to be clear communication and understanding between doctors and patients. She also said that patients' own words should be included in medical records.

Brain Science and Law

Neurolaw is a field that looks at how brain scans might be used in court. Some have suggested that brain images could be used to prove someone's innocence or guilt.

However, Dr. Mayberg and other experts have argued against this idea. They believe that, for now, brain science cannot be used as proof in court. They also warn that it could be wrongly used to predict if someone might commit a crime.

Awards and Groups

Dr. Mayberg is a member of many important scientific groups. These include the Governing Board of the International Neuroethics Society and the Institute Of Medicine. She is also active in the Society for Neuroscience and the American Neurological Association. She helps edit several scientific journals.

She has received many honors and awards for her work. These include being elected to the National Academy of Medicine (2008) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2017). She also received the Gold Medal Award from the Society of Biological Psychiatry in 2014.