Neurologists from the University of California have developed a new headset that has the capacity to zap depression or epilepsy when you are asleep. The headset has two square pads that are sticky and can be attached to the sides of the forehead, just above the Trigeminal Nerve.

These pads are wired to a box that can be clipped to the shorts or shirt at the waist level. This mobile phone like box generates a electrical impulse of 30 second duration continuously with a 30 second interval between two successive signals.

These pulses can trigger the activities of the trigeminal nerve, thereby reducing the magniture of the epileptic seizures or lower the depression. This technique is called the Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation.

Patients who used it for a year reported that there was a 60% reduction in the bouts of the seizures.

People suffering from major depression also showed a great response to the tests as their scores on a scale that measures the depression, Beck Depression Inventory, were greatly improved.

The device, Monarch, is further being developed by the medical devices firm Neurosigma. It has already been approved for use in Europe after pilot studies showed it could provide an additional treatment for patients with depression and epilepsy.

(AW- Anil)