Go read this story about a mood decoder developed by neuroscientists that can measure depression

I get excited whenever I read about deep brain stimulation. The procedure is used to treat Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders by implanting electrodes deep into the brain. Results on the experiment to see if it can be used to treat depression have been mixed.

That is one of the reasons that this story caught my attention. A method to measure a person's moods by simply looking at their brain activity for the first time has been discovered by scientists. The research was presented at a neuroscience meeting.

Depression is not fully understood from a neurological perspective. It is difficult to figure out which brain regions are associated with depression since there are so many symptoms.

After analyzing the brain recordings of three of five volunteers, neuroscientists discovered that a region of the brain called the cingulate cortex is activated when a patient is feeling better and less so when they are feeling low. All of the volunteers had the same pattern.

They were able to see where some of the symptoms of depression came from.

The first demonstration of successful mood decoding of humans in these brain regions is being led by Sameer Sheth.

Depression treatments don't always work for everyone. The trial itself has a number of drawbacks. It is a big leap to conclude that it will work for millions of people who suffer from depression. The neurosciences don't intend to replicate the procedure on more than a few people. Sheth and his team are trying to find ways to improve the effectiveness of the program. Four other people with severe depression have been implanted with electrodes and they plan to study 12 more.

It's very risky to get a hole drilled into your head and then send electricity to your brain. It costs an average of $22,808.

It is a positive step forward. Sheth and his team are trying to find ways to improve depression and understand it. It is important that their work moves us one step further to destigmatizing a condition that many still believe is all in one's head.

The full report from MIT Technology Review on deep brain stimulation can be found here.