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07-04 Direct current and deep brain stimulation with lessons from neurosurgery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

G Malhi
Affiliation:
Academic Discipline of Psychological Medicine, Northern Clinical School, University of Sydney Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
C Loo
Affiliation:
Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
J Lagopoulos
Affiliation:
Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
M Pigot
Affiliation:
Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
K Moss
Affiliation:
Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
P Mitchell
Affiliation:
Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
P Sachdev
Affiliation:
School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Neuropsychiatric Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Abstract

Type
Abstracts from ‘Brainwaves’— The Australasian Society for Psychiatric Research Annual Meeting 2006, 6–8 December, Sydney, Australia
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Blackwell Munksgaard

Neurosurgery for mental disorders (NMS) antedates pharmacotherapy and brain stimulation and arguably informed the development of modern physical treatments for psychiatric disorders, in particular depression (Malhi et al. Neuropsychiatric Dis Treatment 2006, 2 165–179). We describe a study of direct current stimulation for the clinical treatment of depression and its neurobiological effects as measured electrophysiologically, in a pilot study conducted at the Black Dog Institute. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive technique in which a weak direct current is applied across the scalp to alter the excitability of juxtaposed cortical tissue. The effects on neuronal membranes and neurotransmission persist beyond the periods of stimulation and can be measured using quantitative EEG. Preliminary findings from seven subjects will be presented and the putative mechanism of action discussed. In addition, the literature pertaining to this field will be reviewed with reference to current research in tDCS and emergent findings from modern deep brain stimulation and neurosurgical interventions (Dalgleish et al. Am J Psychiatry 2004, 161 1913–1916).