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Jun 18, 2024

Decoding Heart Rate Signals To Refine Brain Stimulation Therapies for Depression

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Study suggests heart rate may be a useful tool to determine where to stimulate the brains of individuals with depressive disorders when brain scans aren’t available.

New research suggests a common brain network exists between heart rate deceleration and depression. By evaluating data from 14 people with no depression symptoms, the team of researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, found stimulating some parts of the brain linked to depression with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), also affected heart rate, suggesting clinicians may be able to target those areas without the use of brain scans that aren’t widely available. The findings were published recently in the journal Nature Mental Health.

Heart-Brain Coupling and TMS.

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