Can Deep Brain Stimulation Cure Addiction?
Deep brain stimulation is a highly invasive surgical procedure that seems to present positive preliminary results in some animals and a few case studies on humans with other mental disorders. With addiction, in particular, subjects showed improvement following the procedure.
However, there is a very serious consideration with this topic. A great deal more research will have to present positive effects on animals, and on addicted individuals already receiving brain surgery for other conditions, before a research team could justify an experiment involving human subjects.
Many of the case studies involving individuals with comorbid disorders (meaning they have more than one mental health disorder), were receiving deep brain stimulation as a last resort effort. They were patients with Parkinson’s disease for whom dopamine replacement therapy was no longer working.
Facing a definite long, miserable decline of motor function and control, these patients were in a state of desperation. Someone would have to be desperate to undergo deep brain stimulation.
What does deep brain stimulation actually entail? Electrodes are surgically placed, usually around the nucleus accumbens, an area deep and low in the brain. These electrodes can be stimulated by a handheld device that controls it from outside the body.
A recent review of the literature went to examine, in detail, the actual indications of improvement in addictive behaviors with these unusual case studies and found that some had the opposite effect. In fact, many that experienced improvement in addictive symptoms felt that improvement only for a short while, until the effects wore off.
What is the bottom line in all of this? While there may be some potential cure, or at least help, for addiction with more specific deep brain stimulation, studies to discover the right process would be inhumane and dangerous, without further animal studies to prove its safety. In addition, even if a way was found to make it work, because of the risks and incredibly invasive nature of the surgery, only the most serious of cases would warrant treatment.
For more information contact Utah Drug Rehab center Cold Creek. Utah Drug Rehab is great at answering questions and helping those who might be struggling with any form of addiction.
