The National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) has granted funds to support Dr. Mark George’s research on stimulating the brain with an external magnet for treatment of depression in patients who do not respond to standard therapies.

The grant is one of a total of 40 prestigious two-year NARSAD Independent Investigators grants of $50,000 per annum to initiate studies at the frontiers of neurobiological science.

“The journey towards discovery of the basic causes of brain dysfunction and mental disorders begins with the kind of first steps these outstanding researchers are taking,” said Dr. Herbert Pardes, president of NARSAD’s 57-member, volunteer Scientific Council.

The reviewers screen numerous applications, making grant decisions on applications from scientists who are on the brink of making major contributions. The intent is that these funds will cover the gap between the initiation of new research and the achievement of sustained funding.

George is studying transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in depression. TMS involves non-invasively stimulating the brain with an external magnet. While there is evidence suggesting that TMS can improve depression, much work remains in understanding which TMS parameters work best for treating depression—for example, the location of the coil, and how much electricity is needed.

George seeks to develop a groundbreaking method involving the combination of TMS with functional magnetic resonance imaging in order to utilize patterns of blood flow in the brain to determine the optimal type of TMS treatment. The technique will be refined, its repeatability will be established, and then the brain response to TMS at different frequencies, intensities, and locations will be systematically explored in both depressed patients and controls.

This critical pilot work will inform and narrow the parameters used in TMS treatment trials, hopefully speeding up eventual clinical approval of TMS for treatment-resistant depression.

NARSAD is a non-profit organization formed originally by four major volunteer mental health groups. It is supported exclusively by private contributions from individuals and corporate donors and is the largest, private, international, philanthropic organization dedicated to research into the neurobiological origins of mental disorders.