A Multiphase Program of Multimodal Computational Modeling and Hybrid Interventions Including EEG-Synchronized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Medical University of South Carolina
Summary
In this research study, investigators examine how brain activity changes during tests of emotional processing, attention, and memory using multimodal neuroimaging methods including electroencephalography (EEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is used to probe and modulate brain networks related to cognitive flexibility and emotion regulation. The study includes multiple related sub-studies involving healthy participants and participants with depression. Some study components focus on mechanistic modeling using non-therapeutic neurostimulation in healthy participants, while other components include interventional approaches such as individualized EEG-synchronized repetitive TMS (rTMS), cognitive tasks, and brief cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in participants with depression. Certain study components also evaluate CBT alone without TMS to assess behavioral intervention effects.
Description
Investigators aim to characterize and modulate brain networks underlying cognitive flexibility (CF) and emotion regulation (ER) using a multimodal, precision neuroscience approach. The central hypothesis is that functional coupling within CF and ER networks is indexed by the phase of the brain's alpha oscillations, and that targeted modulation of these networks through individualized neurostimulation can induce neuroplastic changes associated with improved clinical outcomes in depression and suicidality. To test this hypothesis, investigators utilize a novel integrated system that enables sim…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Study 1 (Healthy Participants) Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18-65 years * Medically and psychiatrically healthy with no history of psychiatric or neurological disorders * English-speaking * Capacity to provide informed consent * Willingness and ability to complete study procedures * Negative pregnancy test for participants of childbearing potential Exclusion Criteria: * Any current or past psychiatric diagnosis * Neurological disorders or history of central nervous system disease * History of seizure or epilepsy or use of medications that lower seizure threshold * Significant head injury or l…
Interventions
- DeviceSingle-Pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation delivered during EEG or neuroimaging sessions for non-therapeutic mapping of cortical excitability and functional connectivity.
- DeviceEEG-Synchronized Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation delivered using individualized, EEG-derived stimulation parameters designed to synchronize stimulation timing with participants' alpha oscillatory phase. This closed-loop approach is intended to modulate neural networks underlying cognitive flexibility and emotion regulation. Stimulation may be delivered in accelerated sessions across multiple days.
- BehavioralCognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
A structured, brief cognitive behavioral therapy program targeting depression and related symptoms, including cognitive restructuring, emotion regulation, and coping skill development, delivered in an accelerated format during the study period.
- BehavioralCognitive Flexibility and Emotion Regulation Tasks
Behavioral tasks designed to engage and assess cognitive flexibility and emotion regulation processes, performed during or adjacent to neurostimulation sessions or as part of study assessments.
Location
- Medical Univeristy of South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina