A Light on Solving World Problems

Being under constant pressure, often while finding solutions to the biggest global problems, many business leaders face depression. It is believed that multibillionaire Elon Musk uses small doses of the psychedelic drug ketamine to treat depression and occasionally takes it in full doses. Google co-founder Sergey Brin consumes magic mushrooms, and Apple’s late CEO, Steve Jobs, openly supported LSD. Globally, an estimated seven percent of adults suffer from depression. Major depressive disorder (MDD), commonly known as clinical depression, is one of the most common mental disorders worldwide. It is one of the major raising issues of our times.

A few researchers from Stanford University have found a way to treat depression by reversing brain signals traveling the wrong way. The study also reveals that backward streams of neural activity between key brain areas could be used as a biomarker to help diagnose depression. “The leading hypothesis has been that TMS could change the brain's neural activity flow. But to be honest, I was pretty skeptical. I wanted to test it," says Anish Mitra, MD, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

In truth, Stanford has always been at the forefront of lighting the way toward solving global problems. Its alumni have often manifested the same interest in the same. Elon, a Stanford alumnus, is one of the greatest examples.

Stanford University was founded in 1885 by Leland Stanford, a railroad magnate, US senator, and former California governor, together with his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford, to honor their only child, Leland Stanford Jr. We dedicate this special issue to the alumni of Stanford University.