Current Studies
No mood illness is the same. Our brain circuit targeted approach leverages cutting edge neuroscience for personalized treatment.
Click to learn more about some of our ongoing projects:
Determining whether aiTBS enhances emotion regulation in patients with BD using computer tasks and fMRI to assess behavioral and neural changes
In this mechanistic study, we will test whether stimulating IPL with a rapid and robust form of TMS, accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (aiTBS), will improve ER in patients with BD. We will use computer tasks that measure ER and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine changes in behavior and brain function following real versus sham aiTBS in individuals with BD.
Exploring Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) for the treatment of Treatment-Resistant Depression
Determining if active VNS (Vagus Nerve Stimulation) Therapy compared to a no-stimulation control group improves health outcomes for subjects with Treatment-Resistant Depression. VNS Therapy is FDA approved device for Depression. This study is being conducted at the request of the Centers of Medicare &Medicaid services (CMS) to show VNS Therapy treatment is reasonable and necessary to treat Medicare beneficiaries with TRD. If you are interested in participating, please contact Joanna Zheng at
joanna.zheng@pennmedicine.upenn.edu or 215-746-3513. For more detailed information about the study, please visit ClinicalTrials.gov.
Discovering more about how TMS affects the communication between brain regions
TMS is a new treatment that is starting to be used to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders. However, we do not have a good idea for how it changes the brain to make people feel better. This work is designed to help us understand how TMS changes how different parts of the brain talk to each other. When we finish the study, we may be able to use what we learn to develop new TMS treatments for other psychiatric disorders like anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.
A multi-site study to determine the optimal dose for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
Deciphering Mechanisms of ECT Outcomes and Adverse Effects (DECODE) is a multi-site prospective study designed to study the mechanism of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)-induced antidepressant benefits and cognitive adverse effects to determine optimal ECT dose. We will study 230 patients at or over 21 years old with MDD clinically referred for ECT at UCLA, UNM, and UTSW. All patients will complete clinical and cognitive measures and undergo sMRI and rs-fMRI. All MRI data will be processed and harmonized identically at a central imaging core (UPenn) to ensure uniformity. EEG data will be collected as well. Please contact Brendan Woods at brendan.woods @pennmedicine.upenn.edu or 215-573-4229.
Utilizing computational methods to analyze datasets from HCP and study the interplay of brain structure, function, and connectivity in disordered emotional states
We will leverage and integrate four datasets encompassing anxious misery (AM) disorders that were originally collected using the state-of-the-art experimental protocols of the Human Connectome Project (HCP). We will extract harmonized imaging derived phenotypes (IDPs) from resting state (rsfMRI) and task (tfMRI) functional, structural (sMRI) and diffusion (dMRI) imaging data. To address the complex interrelationships between brain structure, function and connectivity and features of illness underlying disordered emotional states differing in severity from adolescence through adulthood, we will use novel computational data-driven approaches including group regularized canonical correlation analysis (GRCCA) and Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) methods. If you are interested in participating, please contact Joanna Zheng at joanna.zheng@pennmedicine.upenn.edu or 215-746-3513.