Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) was developed in the late 1980s; however, it was not tested as a potential treatment for resistant depression until Helen Mayberg, M.D., used a NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Grant in 2003 to do pilot studies. Dr. Mayberg hypothesized that DBS could be targeted to a section of the brain called the subcallosal cingulate (also known as “Brodmann Area 25”) that she had identified as linked to depression in earlier research. By targeting this area, depression symptoms in patients have been greatly reduced and in some cases, patients are in complete remission.

In 2000, Kenneth Kendler, M.D., received a Distinguished Investigator Grant to pioneer studies on identifying gene-environment interactions linked to the development of mental illness. He conducted a pilot study aimed at clarifying the role of environmental risk factors in major depression. The results of this research demonstrated for the first time that environmental risk factors impact genetic expression to cause major depression.

In 1998, Yvette Sheline, M.D. received a Young Investigator Grant for a project titled “Affect Induced Activation of the Amygdala in Major Depression.” The results of this project, published in 2001, demonstrated that antidepressants correct abnormal brain function by reducing limbic over-activation and prefrontal cortex under-activation to alleviate symptoms of depression.

In 2000, Foundation Distinguished Investigator Grantees, Paul Greengard, Ph.D., and Eric R. Kandel, M.D., were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their important contributions to understanding the molecular changes in the brain that underlie memory and mood. Dr. Kandel’s research has focused on what happens in the brain when memories are formed, while Dr. Greengard’s research focuses on what happens inside a neuron after a signal is received.

In 1998, Bruce S. McEwen, Ph.D., received Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Grant funding to support his quest to understand what happens when stress impacts and seems to “damage” the brain. While his research confirmed that stress does impact the brain and can cause shrinkage in the hippocampus region, for example, he also found that the impact is not necessarily permanent “damage.” He discovered the brain’s inherent capacity to adapt and remodel its architecture. His groundbreaking work effectively established what is now known as “neuroplasticity” in the field.