Materials scientists have designed a brain-stimulating contact lens that is as effective as Prozac in treating depression in mice. The soft, clear contact lenses contain electrodes that send gentle electrical signals through the retina to the brain, stimulating specific brain areas associated with depression.
Published in Cell Press Journal on May 14, 2026 cell report physical scienceThe paper shows that after three weeks of treatment with contact lenses, depressed mice showed behavioral, neurological, and physiological signs of depression.
Our research opens up a completely new frontier in treating brain diseases through the eyes. We believe this wearable, drug-free approach has great potential to transform the way we treat depression and other brain diseases such as anxiety, drug addiction, and cognitive decline. ”
Jang-Ung Park, senior study author and materials scientist, Yonsei University
Current treatments for depression, including drugs, electroconvulsive therapy, and brain implants, work by targeting brain regions and circuits associated with mood. Since the retina is connected to some of these areas, the researchers wanted to try using the eye as a conduit to stimulate the brain.
Previously designed smart contact lenses have been used to monitor eye and metabolic disorders, such as by measuring intraocular pressure and blood sugar levels, but this is the first time contact lenses have been used to treat brain disorders.
“Since the eyes are anatomically part of the brain, we thought a simple contact lens could act as a gentle, non-invasive doorway to the brain circuits that control mood,” Park says.
Contact lenses stimulate the brain using a method called temporal interference, which transmits two electrical signals to the retina. These electrical signals are only active at crossroads, meaning that treatments targeting only specific brain areas are very precise.
“Think of two flashlights. Each beam is dark on its own, but when they overlap, a bright spot appears, and that bright spot can be created far away from the flashlights themselves. Our contact lenses do the same thing with two harmless electrical signals,” Park said. “Even though the electrodes are placed on the surface of the eye, the signals are activated only where they meet in the retina at the back of the eye, gently activating the natural wiring that carries signals to areas of the brain associated with mood.”
The researchers engineered the lenses to be flexible and transparent by constructing electrodes from ultrathin layers of gallium oxide and platinum, and tested the temporal interference of contact lenses in mice with induced depression.
The researchers compared four groups of mice. They included non-depressed control mice, depressed mice that received no treatment, depressed mice that received temporal interference, and depressed mice that received fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and the active ingredient in Prozac. To assess depression in the mice before and after treatment, the research team used behavioral assays, electrophysiological brain recordings, and measurements of blood and brain biomarkers associated with depression.
Contact lens treatment reduced symptoms of depression in all three categories. Mice exposed to temporally interfering stimulation for 30 minutes a day for three weeks showed behavioral improvements comparable to those given fluoxetine. Brain activity recordings revealed that the treatment restored connections between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex that had been lost in depression.
The treatment also partially restored levels of biomarkers associated with depression, including lower levels of inflammatory molecules in the brain, a 48% reduction in blood corticosterone, and a 47% increase in serotonin levels compared to untreated depressed mice.
“We were shocked to see improvements across behavior, brain activity, and biology, with effects comparable to widely used antidepressants,” Park says.
When the researchers asked a machine learning model to group mice based on their behavior, brain activity, and biomarker levels, the model consistently grouped mice in the contact lens treatment group with non-depressed control mice, but not with mice in the untreated depression group.
“Like any new medical technology, our contact lenses must go through rigorous clinical evaluation with patients before they can be brought to market,” Park said. “Next, we plan to make the lens completely wireless, test long-term safety in large animals, and customize stimulation for each user before moving on to clinical trials in patients.”
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Reference magazines:
Park, W. others (2026) Contact lens bioelectronic platform for non-invasive depression treatment with machine learning-based assessment. cell report physical science. DOI:10.1016/j.xcrp.2026.103303. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(26)00209-2.
