Participants sought: Therapeutic use of transcranial Alternative Current Stimulation for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Participants sought for study using transcranial Alternating Current
Stimulation (tACS) for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

The Epworth Centre for Innovation in Mental Health is seeking volunteers between the ages of 18 and 65 with either no history of mental health conditions OR a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to help us investigate whether a novel brain stimulation method called transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) can be used to treat OCD.

Participants sought: Synchronising brain rhythms with mild electrical stimulation

Neural activity patterns. Wikipedia

The Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre is seeking healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 45 to help us investigate how people experience gentle electrical brain stimulation.

Participation will involve visiting our research centre in Prahran for three sessions. In each session you will undergo a short session of non-invasive brain stimulation and we will ask you questions about your experience of the stimulation and also record your brain activity. Each session will take between 2-3 hours to complete. You will be compensated $20 per session.

If you would like more details or might be interested in participating, please contact Dr Aron Hill, email aron.hill@monash.edu

See more detail at:
https://ccs-clin-trials.med.monash.edu.au/trials/equivalence-and-stimulation-parameter-investigations-brainamp-stimeegv2b-purpose-developed-tr

A new treatment to enhance working memory

By Dr Jodie Abramovitch

Non-invasive stimulation of the brain by a weak electrical current can have therapeutic effects in a range of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and depression. A newer form of this non-invasive techniques is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) which has been shown to improve cognitive processes such as working memory (includes comprehension, reasoning and learning).

A/Prof Kate Hoy

Recently, research conducted by Associate Professor Kate Hoy and colleagues from the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc) has focused on a closely related form of brain stimulation called transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). This method of stimulation is thought to induce changes in the brain which more closely mimics natural brain activities.

In this study, healthy individuals were given tACS, tDCS or a sham brain stimulation across separate testing sessions, at least one week apart. Working memory was tested before and after treatment via a series of computerised tasks. Results revealed that working memory was improved in participants following tACS when undertaking more difficult memory tasks. This was not seen in participants treated with tDCS or the sham treatment. 

These results provide a platform for ongoing investigations into tACS and how it may be used to improve cognition.

Reference: Hoy KE, Bailey N, Arnold S, Windsor K, John J, Daskalakis ZJ, Fitzgerald PB. The effect of γ-tACS on working memory performance in healthy controls. Brain Cogn. 2015 Dec; 101:51-6

doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2015.11.002