A new study could be an essential step in making an emergency treatment known as brain stimulation responsive to daily changes in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms.
A Futurity report specified that researchers could record electrical signals in the human brain associated with ebbs and flow in symptoms of the condition over an extended period. It can be done in the participants' homes as they attend their day-to-day activities.
The condition, which is affecting as much as two percent of the world's population, is causing recurring unwanted thoughts, not to mention repetitive behaviors.
OCD, as detailed in a Mayo Clinic report, is frequently devastating, and up to 20 to 40 percent of cases do not respond to a conventional drug or behavioral treatment.
Deep Brain Stimulation
Essentially, deep brain stimulation (DBS), described on Johns Hopkins Medicine website, a technique involving tiny electrodes accurately placed in the day, delivering mild electric pulses, is effective in treating more than half of patients for whom other treatments failed.
A limitation is that DBS has hailed to adjust to "moment-to-moment changes" in the symptoms of OCD, which is affected by the social and physical environment.
However, adaptive DBS, which can regulate the strength of stimulation in response to real-time signals recorded in the brain, could be more effective compared to traditional DBS. It can also lessen unwanted side effects.
According to associate professor of biomedical engineering David Borton, from Brown University, OCD is a disorder in which the severity of symptoms is highly adaptable over time and can be stimulated by "triggers in the environment."
Biomarker in the Brain Linked to OCD Symptoms
Borton, a biomedical engineer at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, and a senior author of the new study published in Nature Medicine, added that a deep brain system that can regulate the strength of stimulation in reaction to symptoms might provide more relief, not to mention lesser adverse effects for patients.
However, for the technology to be enabled, there is a need to identify the biomarkers in the brain linked to OCD symptoms, and that is what the researchers are working to address in their study.
For this work, they recruited five volunteers with severe OCD who were qualified for DBS treatment
Baylor College of Medicine's Sameer Sheth embedded each of the participants with a trial DBS device from Medtronic that's capable of both "carrying stimulation and recording inherent electrical signals of the brain."
Utilizing the device's sensing capabilities, the researchers collected brain-signal data from participants, both in clinical backgrounds and at home as they attended to their everyday activities.
Behavioral Biomarkers
Along with the brain signal data, the team also collected a suite of behavioral biomarkers. In the clinical background, these comprised facial expressions and body movements.
Utilizing computer vision and machine learning, the scientists discovered that the behavioral features were linked to the changes in internal brain states.
At home, the participants' self-report of OCD symptom strength was measured through biometric data, heart rate, and general activity levels. The data were also recorded by a smartwatch, paired with a smartphone application that Rune Labs provided.
Once biomarkers are favorably identified, they could be applied in an adaptive DBS system. Presently, the said systems employ a constant simulation level, which a clinician can regulate at visits to the clinic.
Kindling Recording of Brain Activity
On the contrary, adaptive DBS systems would kindle and record the brain's activity and behavior continuously, minus the necessity of visiting the clinic.
When the system identifies signals linked to a rise in the severity of the symptom, it could ramp up stimulation to possibly offer additional relief.
Similarly, stimulation could be toned down when symptoms decrease. Such an approach could enhance DBS therapy while lessening side effects.
Related information about OCD is shown on Osmosis's YouTube video below:
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