Findings from the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health (DMCBH) in collaboration with the UBC MRI Research Centre provide novel insight into the brain’s response to repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as a depression treatment. Using an fMRI machine while one round of rTMS was delivered allowed researchers to map the brain’s activation during treatment.
Leading this research at the DMCBH is Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez, who is also an Assistant Professor in UBC’s Department of Psychiatry. He is interested in the various applications of this research beyond treating depression, and has received grants to study how whether rTMS can be used with those exhibiting early signs consistent with Alzheimer’s disease to improve memory, as well as to study if heart rate changes can be used to detect the pattern of activation.