Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China
Binshi Bo
Institute of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Sciences and Intelligence Technology, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
Puxin Wang
Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China; Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
Peixing Qian
Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China; Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
Mingzhe Li
Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China
Yuyan Li
Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China
Chuanjun Tong
Institute of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Sciences and Intelligence Technology, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; School of Biomedical Engineering, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
Kaiwei Zhang
Institute of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Sciences and Intelligence Technology, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
Baogui Zhang
Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Zhifeng Liang
Institute of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Sciences and Intelligence Technology, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Future Technology, Peking University, Beijing, China; Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China; National Biomedical Imaging Center, Peking University, Beijing, China
The available treatments for depression have substantial limitations, including low response rates and substantial lag time before a response is achieved. We applied deep brain stimulation (DBS) to the lateral habenula (LHb) of two rat models of depression (Wistar Kyoto rats and lipopolysaccharide-treated rats) and observed an immediate (within seconds to minutes) alleviation of depressive-like symptoms with a high-response rate. Simultaneous functional MRI (fMRI) conducted on the same sets of depressive rats used in behavioral tests revealed DBS-induced activation of multiple regions in afferent and efferent circuitry of the LHb. The activation levels of brain regions connected to the medial LHb (M-LHb) were correlated with the extent of behavioral improvements. Rats with more medial stimulation sites in the LHb exhibited greater antidepressant effects than those with more lateral stimulation sites. These results indicated that the antidromic activation of the limbic system and orthodromic activation of the monoaminergic systems connected to the M-LHb played a critical role in the rapid antidepressant effects of LHb-DBS. This study indicates that M-LHb-DBS might act as a valuable, rapid-acting antidepressant therapeutic strategy for treatment-resistant depression and demonstrates the potential of using fMRI activation of specific brain regions as biomarkers to predict and evaluate antidepressant efficacy.
