Noninvasive stimulation of the corneal surface in the eyes resulted in "remarkable" antidepressant-like effects and also reduced stress hormones in an animal model of depression, a study published May 27 in Brain Stimulation and June 25 in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences showed.
Researchers at the University of Hong Kong in Pok Fu Lam led by Lim Lee Wei, MD, PhD, Leanne Chan Lai-Hang, PhD, and Chan Ying-Shing, PhD, discovered that noninvasive stimulation of the corneal surface in the eye of lab rats that activates brain pathways, resulted in antidepressant-like effects and reduced stress hormones in an animal model of depression.
The technique, called transcorneal electrical stimulation, also induced the expression of genes involved in the development and growth of brain cells in the hippocampus.
In related experiments, Wing Shan Yu, MD, PhD, and other researchers at the University of Hong Kong investigated whether this approach could also be used to treat Alzheimer's disease. They found that this noninvasive stimulation in mice drastically improved memory performance and reduced beta-amyloid deposits in the hippocampus, a symptom of Alzheimer's.