Common Electrophysiology Biomarkers Collected at Home Robustly Track Depression Recovery With Deep Brain Stimulation.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomarker Discovery
• Clinical Neurophysiology

Background:

• Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) management is challenging due to nonspecific symptom fluctuations.
• Objective biomarkers are needed to guide subcallosal cingulate cortex (SCC) deep brain stimulation (DBS) adjustments.
• Previous work identified an electrophysiological signature of recovery, but its generalizability and clinical utility require validation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate a novel electrophysiological biomarker for tracking therapeutic effects of SCC DBS in TRD.
• To demonstrate the biomarker's generalizability across cohorts and devices.
• To establish the biomarker's robustness and suitability for clinical decision support.

Main Methods:

• Developed an at-home SCC LFP data collection platform using the Medtronic Summit RC+S system.
• Collected longitudinal local field potential (LFP) recordings from ten TRD participants with SCC DBS.
• Analyzed LFP data for biomarker stability, specificity, and robustness to confounds like time of day and stimulation status.

Main Results:

• The previously identified biomarker of stable recovery generalized across cohorts and devices.
• The biomarker proved robust to common confounds and demonstrated symptom specificity and stability.
• Biomarker changes correlated with pre-DBS white matter structure and network function (dMRI, rsFMRI).

Conclusions:

• The validated electrophysiological biomarker is a reliable indicator of SCC DBS therapeutic effects in TRD.
• This biomarker supports the development of scalable, electrophysiology-informed decision support systems for clinical management.
• Findings reinforce the potential of objective biomarkers to optimize DBS therapy for depression.