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‘Pacemaker for the brain’ treating people with deep depression

Science yet to be settled, work progressing on treatment that involves electric pulses to the brain
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Emily Hollenbeck stands for a portrait at the American Museum of Natural History’s Rose Center in New York on Jan. 12, 2024. Hollenbeck, a deep brain stimulation patient being treated for depression, says, “The stress is pretty extreme at times, but I’m able to see and remember, even on a bodily level, that I’m going to be OK. … If I hadn’t had DBS, I’m pretty sure I would not be alive today.” (AP Photo/Mary Conlon)

Emily Hollenbeck lived with a deep, recurring depression she likened to a black hole, where gravity felt so strong and her limbs so heavy she could barely move. She knew the illness could kill her. Both of her parents had taken their lives.

She was willing to try something extreme: Having electrodes implanted in her brain as part of an experimental therapy.

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