Experiments show ultrasound waves can influence mood

Jul 19, 2013 18:31 GMT  ·  By

Presently, depression and anxiety patients are often prescribed pills. Thanks to Dr. Stuart Hammeroff at the University of Arizona, pill popping could one day be replaced by ultrasound waves therapy.

Writing in the journal Brain Stimulation, Dr. Stuart Hammeroff explains that ultrasound waves can influence a person's mood.

In order for them to do so, they must be applied to very specific areas of the brain, the researcher further details.

Experiments carried out with the help of several volunteers have shown that, in 40 minutes tops, after being treated with ultrasound waves, people are likely to experience an improvement in their mood.

“With 2 megahertz those who were stimulated with ultrasound reported feeling 'lighter,' or 'happier;' a little more attentive, a little more focused and a general increase in well-being,” explains doctoral candidate Jay Sanguinetti, who has worked alongside Dr. Stuart Hammerhoff on this project.

“What we think is happening is that the ultrasound is making the neurons a little bit more likely to fire in the parts of the brain involved with mood,” he goes on to say.

Interestingly enough, Dr. Stuart Hammerhoff admits having tested this peculiar treatment on himself. He did this before setting the basis for his clinical trial, EurekAlert reports.

The researcher recollects that, at first, he did not feel that his mood had been altered in any way. However, it was not long until he started feeling that the ultrasound waves had actually had a beneficial effect on his brain.

“I put it down and said, 'well, that's not going to work.' And then about a minute later I started to feel like I'd had a martini,” the specialist describes his experience.

The same source informs us that Dr. Stuart Hammerhoff's mood remained elevated for about two hours. Had he not obtained similar results when he tested the procedure on volunteers, he would have believed that what he had experienced had been no more and no less than a placebo effect.

The researcher is now looking to design and manufacture a device that would make ultrasound waves therapy a treatment option for depression and anxiety patients.

“The idea is that this device will be a wearable unit that noninvasively and safely interfaces with your brain using ultrasound to regulate neural activity,” Jay Sanguinetti explains.