The latest brain-computer interface could help people recover from major depression. Motif Neurotech announced Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a human study to trial a thymus-sized brain implant that is implanted in the skull and provides electrical stimulation to treat depression.
The Houston-based startup, founded in 2022, is part of an emerging industry seeking technology to read and interpret brain signals. While other companies exploring similar technology, such as Neuralink, Paradromics and Elon Musk’s Synchron, are developing devices to enable people with paralysis to communicate and use computers, Motif aims to relieve depression in people who have not benefited from medication.
The company’s device is implanted directly in the skull above the dura, which is the protective membrane of the brain. It targets the central executive network, a part of the brain responsible for high-level cognitive functions that is underactive in major depressive disorder. The implant emits specific patterns of stimulation to turn on this network.
The Motif device will allow patients to receive therapeutic brain stimulation at home. “With repetitive electrical stimulation, we believe we can drive that neuroplasticity that creates stronger connectivity within the central executive network of patients with depression, so they can get out of bed in the morning, call their friends, and go to the gym,” says Jacob Robinson, co-founder and CEO of Motiv.
Courtesy of Motivation
Electrical stimulation has been used for decades to treat depression, and Motiv’s approach is just the latest iteration. Electroconvulsive therapy, or “shock,” began in the 1930s and is still used today in cases where patients do not benefit from antidepressants. Deep brain stimulation, which involves surgically implanting electrodes into the brain, is sometimes used experimentally but has not been approved by the FDA. A much milder form of stimulation known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, was approved in 2008. While it can be very effective, it usually requires a long treatment regimen of five treatment sessions per week for six weeks.
A 2021 study found that over a 12-month period in the United States, nearly 9 million adults were in treatment for major depressive disorder, and of those, nearly 3 million were considered to have treatment-resistant depression, when symptoms do not improve after taking at least two, and often more, antidepressant medications.
The Motif device can be implanted in a 20-minute outpatient procedure without the need for brain surgery. It is powered by wireless electromagnetic technology that Robinson developed while at Rice University and is fitted with a baseball cap that patients wear when receiving stimulation.
