The £399 headset which claims to treat depression: Brain-zapping device is now available for people to use at home
- Device uses small jolts of electricity to change activity in the prefrontal cortex
- Depressed people often have lower activity in the left side of this area of brain
- Makers claim the device rebalances this and improves mood within six weeks
A headset which zaps the brain with electricity to treat depression is now available to purchase and use at home in the UK.
The device uses small electrical jolts to boost activity in part of the brain responsible for emotion, personality and decision making.
The portable gadget costs £399 and it is the first of its kind that has been medically approved in the UK, its makers claim.
The first medically approved headset which zaps the brain with electricity to treat depression is now available to purchase for £399 and use at home
The brain stimulation device uses small jolts of electricity to change activity in the front of the brain responsible for emotion, personality and decision making
With an estimated one in ten people experiencing depression at some point in their life, doctors have been racing to find a cure.
But so far the options for sufferers are therapy or antidepressants, which can cause severe and long-lasting side effects.
Brain-zapping techniques have shown to be promising in treating depression under clinical environments in several studies.
Known as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), the technique sends low-powered electrical currents into targeted areas of depressed patients’ brains.
These imperceptible shocks are thought to encourage the brain’s neural connections to be become less rigid.
The theory is that depressed brains are more set in their synaptic ways, and mild electrical stimulation helps new and different neural connections seen in healthy brains to form.
Modern brain stimulation bears little resemblance to the infamous electroshock therapy once used in psychiatric hospitals in Victorian times, but it rests on the same general principals.
While many studies have shown the technique to lift mood, others have found it to be short-lived or ineffective altogether.
But two recent trials published in the New England Journal of Medicine and the British Journal of Psychiatry showed that tDCS had similar effects to antidepressants.
Researchers at Flow Neuroscience have incorporated the medical technique into their headset and claim it fixes imbalances in the brain.
The gadget targets the currents at an area just behind the forehead known as the prefrontal cortex.
It is responsible for planning complex cognitive behavior, personality traits, decision making and moderating social behaviour.
Depressed people often have lower activity in the left side of this area, and higher activity on the right.
Flow claims the headset rebalances this activity if users wear it for half an hour every other day for six weeks.
It also comes with a virtual therapy app which encourages users to eat and sleep better, exercise and meditate.
Daniel Mansson, clinical psychologist and CEO of Flow, said the device was aimed at people with clinical depression who had been diagnosed.
But he says that the British Standards Institute, the regulatory body which approved it for use, took this into account.
Flow says it is starting talks with the NHS to try make the device available on prescription.
The device is being launched in several clinics around the UK today and is available to buy online.