Infections with S. pyogenes (GAS) are associated with brain autoimmune disorders: Sydenham’s chorea (SC) and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS). Autoantibodies form when the immune system fails to… Read more »
Use of transcranial direct current stimulation to enhance consolidation of therapeutic learning in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
While medications and psychotherapy can each help about 60% of OCD patients, troubling symptoms can often persist even among treatment responders. New therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. The top therapeutic… Read more »
Clinical trial of image-guided low-intensity focused ultrasound pulsation (LIFUP) for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
About one in three people with OCD do not get better after trying first-line treatments. For patients with severe, treatment-resistant OCD, Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is an effective option, but… Read more »
A precision medicine approach to OCD treatment: Targeting neuroinflammation
Much prior research has found evidence of brain inflammation’s role in the development of OCD. As a result, anti-inflammatory medications have been suggested as a potential avenue for treating symptoms… Read more »
Beyond the Goal versus Habit binary: A computational EEG Study of the neurocognitive mechanisms of obsessive compulsive disorder
In order to better understand OCD, researchers are investigating what happens in the brain when people with OCD perform compulsions. Research shows that in OCD, the parts of the brain… Read more »
Correlates of treatment outcome using multimodal neuroimaging in children with PANDAS
Researchers are increasingly interested in the connection between inflammation in the brain and OCD symptoms in both Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS) and more typical childhood-onset… Read more »
Pairing tVNS and exposure and response prevention to improve symptoms of OCD
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP) is a safe, effective, and proven treatment for OCD. Some researchers believe that ERP’s efficacy lies behind helping patients “un-learn”… Read more »
How disease and medication shape the brain, and how the brain predicts individual treatment response: Learning from global collaboration
Brain imaging has revolutionized our understanding of mental health disorders like OCD by revealing important information about which parts of the brain are impacted by OCD and informing treatment approaches…. Read more »
Neural mechanisms of active avoidance in obsessive compulsive disorder
According to behavioral models of OCD, compulsions are avoidance behaviors that alleviate distress from obsessions in the short term. Over time, this reinforces beliefs that obsessions are intolerable and that… Read more »
The role of deep brain stimulation on excessive avoidance in rats: A mechanistic window to therapeutic action in OCD
Animal models (such as rats) are useful for studying the neuroscience and medication of mental health disorders, as they give insight into how human brains can act and respond. In… Read more »