Deep Brain Stimulation, with Dr. Mahendra Bhati

Our topic on this episode of What Makes Up Your Mind takes us deep into the human brain where stimulation treatments show great promise for relieving psychiatric illnesses. Already used to treat neural conditions affecting motor skills like epilepsy and movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has also been beneficial in the treatment of severe Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and is being tested for treatment-resistant severe depression.In our podcast, you’ll hear Dr. Bhati give an in-depth description of the DBS procedure itself, the results he’s seen, and his process for evaluating candidates for the procedure. He explains the criteria for using DBS to treat OCD is severe treatment resistance, while using DBS for severe treatment-resistant depression is currently only available through a research study. In terms of documented efficacy for depression, Dr. Bhati says past studies done as “open label” investigations in which both researchers and participants are aware of the treatment being given showed positive results from DBS. Later controlled studies did not show greater positive results than so-called “sham treatments” in which the doctor simply goes through the motions without performing the treatment, not unlike using a placebo in a blind study for a pharmaceutical. However, according to Dr. Bhati, on-going studies continue, using advanced tools like neuroimaging to better characterize patients and neural circuits, as well as investigations of longer duration, to seek better outcomes.While extremely optimistic and excited about the possibilities DBS holds for alleviating the suffering of psychiatric patients, Dr. Bhati is concerned about how accessible this and other developing treatments will be, and currently are, for those who need them. One impediment is the shortage of mental health care providers in this arena, so Dr. Bhati directs a clinical fellowship in interventional psychiatry to encourage more young psychiatrists to engage in these new treatment options. To add to our fascinating discussion, Dr. Bhati shares his interest in the role of consciousness in mental illness and healing.Click through to listen, and check the links below for more on Dr. Bhati’s work and where DBS patient trials may be available, including at the Stanford Brain Stimulation Lab.Dr. Mahendra Bhati: https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/mahendra-bhatiStanford Interventional Psychiatry Clinic: https://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/patient_care/intvpsych.htmlStanford Brain Stimulation Lab: https://bsl.stanford.edu/