2017 NARSAD Young Investigor Award

01/01/2018

The NARSAD project aims at merging brain stimulation and real-time assessment of brain oscillations to target the individual neurophysiological substrate of brain functions compromised in depression.

The project will comprise two phases: While in phase 1 (month 1-12) a first real-time BCI-TES system will be developed and tested that allows for purposeful modulation of neuromagnetic brain activity related to frontal brain functions (such as working memory, attention and response inhibition) compromised in depression, phase 2 (months 12-24) will apply this new methodology in a group of patients diagnosed with major depression (n=24). Patients will be assigned to one of three experimental groups: while group A (n=8) will learn to up- and down-regulate individual frontal brain oscillations identified to be related to frontal brain function (e.g. frontal midline theta, FMT), group B (n=8) will receive sham feedback unrelated to frontal brain oscillations. Group C will additionally receive brain-state informed TES to augment BCI-related brain plasticity. Besides continuous assessment of clinical depression scores, functional and structural plasticity related to BCI-TES application will be evaluated using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).