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Improving Brain Stimulation Through Imaging
Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
Summary
Repetitive pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive treatment that involves stimulating the brain; however, treatment benefit depends on placing a TMS coil in the correct place on the head to reach critical brain regions below. Clinicians typically use scalp-based targeting, a process in which rather than using MRI guidance to target brain regions for stimulation, they use landmarks on the scalp. Several researchers, including the investigators' lab, showed that the current scalp-based targeting techniques do not position stimulation above the correct brain region, and patients fail to respond. The investigators propose to improve clinical scalp-based targeting by comparing it to MRI guided targeting. The most common clinical population receiving rTMS therapy is depressed patients. The investigators' plan is to study the accuracy of certain scalp-based rules in patients with depression. Accurate brain stimulation targeting is critical for effective rTMS therapy. For participants who are not undergoing rTMS therapy who have COVID-19 distress, we are offering a combined home-based neuromodulation (transcranial electrical stimulation) and focused psychotherapy program dedicated to improving the same outcome measure, quality of life. Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) stimulates the brain over a large region; however, we are able to model with brain imaging which brain regions receive the strongest stimulation. Our goal is still to examine stimulation precision, but we will test whether strength of tES in the same brain regions that rTMS is targeting will also lead to improved quality of life. We will also carefully assess whether it is possible to measure healthy functioning, an outcome in the rTMS study, because sheltering in place may reduce activities and thus distort our measure. We will also test whether our psychotherapy intervention will mitigate this effect and, if so, we may make it available to all those depressed Veterans in whom we're studying the effect of neuromodulation on functioning.
Official title: Targeting Functional Improvement in rTMS Therapy
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - 89 Years
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
54
Start Date
2019-09-30
Completion Date
2026-05-01
Last Updated
2025-05-04
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
Psychological / Functional Assessment
Psychological and functional assessment battery to characterize participants.
Structural and Functional MRI
Structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging session.
Transcranial Magnetic Brain Stimulation and MR Image Guidance
MRI guided transcranial magnetic stimulation and measurement of targeting accuracy.
Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES)
Home-based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
Locations (1)
VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA
Palo Alto, California, United States