Helen S. Mayberg

"Helen S. Mayberg" was born in 1956 in California. She is an American neurologist.Dr. Mayberg is known in particular for her work delineating abnormal brain function in patients with major depression using functional neuroimaging. This work led to the first pilot study of deep brain stimulation (DBS), a reversible method of selective modulation of a specific brain circuit, for patients with treatment-resistant depression.

Biography

She obtained her M.D. from the University of Southern California in 1981. She specialized in neurology, completing her residency training at Columbia University’s Neurological Institute in New York City from 1982 through 1985. She then completed a research fellowship at Johns Hopkins University’s PET facility from 1985 to 1987. [ [http://www.narsad.org/research/profiles/profile2006-09-21.html The Brain’s Depression Circuit.] NARSAD.org. Retrieved November 18, 2006.] Dr. Helen S. Mayberg is a professor, [http://www.psychiatry.emory.edu/faculty.htm Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences] and [http://neurology.emory.edu/ Neurology] , Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She is also affiliated with [http://www.rotman-baycrest.on.ca/rotmansite/home.php Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre] and the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [ [http://www.neuron.org/content/article/fulltext?uid=PIIS089662730500156X&highlight=mayberg&highlight=deep%20brain%20stimulation Clinical Study - Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression.] neuron.org, March 3, 2005. Retrieved November 18, 2005.]

Dr. Mayberg's work

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is one of a group of treatments involving surgical implantation of a medical device called a brain pacemaker, which sends electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain. This surgical procedure is used to treat severe essential tremor and the tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia (slow movement) associated with Parkinson's disease, as well as dystonia and other conditions. In March 2005, the results of a Canadian study performed by doctors from the University of Toronto (including Dr. Mayberg) were published indicating that DBS of Brodmann area 25 may also alleviate symptoms in patients suffering from treatment-resistant clinical depression. [ [http://www.neuron.org/content/article/fulltext?uid=PIIS089662730500156X&highlight=mayberg&highlight=deep%20brain%20stimulation Clinical Study - Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression.] neuron.org, March 3, 2005. Retrieved November 18, 2005.]

Awards and nominations

*NARSAD Mental Health Research Association - Distinguished Investigator Award Recipient (2002)

Disclosures

Her disclosed grant supports include: the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia and Depression. She has served as a consultant for Advanced Neuromodulation Systems on deep brain stimulation.

Recent publications

* Targeting abnormal neural circuits in mood and anxiety disorders: from the laboratory to the clinic [ [http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn1944 Targeting abnormal neural circuits in mood and anxiety disorders: from the laboratory to the clinic : Abstract : Nature Neuroscience ] ]
* Differences in Brain Glucose Metabolism Between Responders to CBT and Venlafaxine in a 16-Week Randomized Controlled Trial [ [http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.164.5.778 Differences in Brain Glucose Metabolism Between Responders to CBT and Venlafaxine in a 16-Week Randomized Controlled Trial - Kennedy et al. 164 (5): 778 - Am J Psychiatry ] ]
* Defining the Neural Circuitry of Depression: Toward a New Nosology With Therapeutic Implications [ [http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0006322307000741 Elsevier Article Locator ] ]

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.narsad.org/research/summaries/mayberghelens-2002.html NARSAD, The World's Leading Charity Dedicated to Mental Health Research]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/magazine/02depression.html?ex=1189828800&en=60a7b828bb598742&ei=5070 "A Depression Switch," an article by David Dobbs in the New York Times Magazine about Mayberg's DBS trial for patients with deep depression]