Which brain structures have been investigated as potential targets for deep brain stimulation of patients suffering from major depression?
['Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is under scientific evaluation as a new treatment option for these treatment-resistant patients. First clinical studies with small samples have been stimulated at the subgenual cingulate gyrus (Cg25/24), the anterior limb of the capsula interna (ALIC), and the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). ', 'New hypothesis-guided targets (e.g., medial forebrain bundle, habenula) are about to be assessed in clinical trials. ', 'Deep brain stimulation (DBS) to the nucleus accumbens (NAcc-DBS) has antidepressant effects in patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression (TRD). ', 'The ventral striatum, including the head of the caudate nucleus and the nucleus accumbens, is a putative target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and major depression (MD). ', 'High frequency stimulation was successfully applied in several small samples of patients with treatment-resistant depression when the stimulation focused on different areas, e.g., nucleus accumbens, the lateral habenula or cortical areas.', 'We recorded electrophysiological activity directly from the nucleus accumbens of five patients undergoing deep brain stimulation for treatment of refractory major depression. ', 'Functional inhibition of the lateral habenula via deep brain stimulation (DBS) has antidepressive properties.', 'Because a prominent clinical feature of depression is anhedonia--the inability to experience pleasure from previously pleasurable activities--and because there is clear evidence of dysfunctions of the reward system in depression, DBS to the nucleus accumbens might offer a new possibility to target depressive symptomatology in otherwise treatment-resistant depression.', 'These preliminary findings suggest that DBS to the nucleus accumbens might be a hypothesis-guided approach for refractory major depression.', 'Deep brain stimulation of the ventral caudate nucleus markedly improved symptoms of depression and anxiety until their remission, which was achieved at 6 months after the start of stimulation (HDRS < or = 7 and HARS < or = 10).', 'No neuropsychological deterioration was observed, indicating that DBS of the ventral caudate nucleus could be a promising strategy in the treatment of refractory cases of both OCD and major depression.', 'Comparisons of clinical outcomes and anatomical data on electrode positioning showed that caudate nucleus stimulation preferentially alleviated OCD manifestations, whereas nucleus accumbens stimulation improved depressive symptoms. ']
['Subgenual cingulate gyrus, the anterior limb of the capsula interna, nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle, habenula, and caudate nucleus have been investigated as potential targeted for the deep brain stimulation of patients suffering from major depression.']
['subgenual cingulate gyrus', 'anterior limb of the capsula interna', 'nucleus accumbens', 'medial forebrain bundle', 'habenula', 'ventral caudate nucleus']