Psychiatric Neuromodulation Program
Neuromodulation provides an alternative to existing forms of treatment for devastating psychiatric illnesses. Instead of psychotropic drugs, which expose the entire brain and the whole bodywith chemicals, neuromodulation uses devices that change brain activity through electrical or magnetic stimulation. There are now over a half-dozen methods in regular use or development. This includes one of the oldest treatments in psychiatry -- electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and some of the newest. The FDA has recently approved Vagas Nerve Stimulation (VNS) for severe depression that does not respond to conventional treatment with drugs and therapy. In psychiatry, the primary focus of neuromodulation is treatment resistant depression, or 'TRD.' Studies are underway with techniques such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and deep brain stimulation (DBS) in TRD, but other psychiatric disorders, such as obsessive compulsive disorder, and chronic pain syndromes, are also under study.
The Psychiatric Neuromodulation Program is a multi-disciplinary group that includes psychiatrists, neurosurgeons, psychologists, nurse practitioners and social workers. Its mission it to provide state of the art clinical neuromodulation therapy, and conducts active, multi-disciplinary research in neuromodulation, seeking a better understanding of psychiatric illness and better treatments.
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) Program -- click here for more information, including information about making a referral for treatment
Other clinical neuromodulation programs
