Research - Current

Current Research Projects

Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Medical School) – A double blind randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of CES therapy for Major Depressive Disorder, with David Mischoulon, MD and Darin Dougherty, MD. Thirty (30) adults diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder will be randomly assigned to daily (5 times/week, 20 minute sessions) treatment with CES or sham therapy for 3 weeks. Improvement in depressive symptoms will be assessed and compared between the two treatment groups. The study is nearing completion at this time.

Boston Children's Hospital (Harvard Medical School) – Dr. Alexander Rotenberg, M.D., Ph.D. and his research team have combined CES with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and are conducting a series of preclinical experiments aimed to identify CES mechanisms of action by studying its effect on cortical excitability. Outcomes from these experiments are anticipated to shape future CES applications in decease states characterized by cortical dysfunction.

Beth Israel Medical Center (BIMC) in New York City – A single-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of CES therapy for the depressive phase of Bipolar Disorder II (BD II). The study is being conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. Igor Galynker MD, PhD, who is the Associate Chairman of the Psychiatry Department at BIMC, as well as the founder and director of the Family Center for Bipolar Disorder. Following a rigorous screening and diagnostic assessment, twenty (20) adults currently in the depressive phase of BD II are being randomly assigned to either daily CES treatments (20 minute sessions/ 5 days per week) or sham therapy sessions for 2 weeks. Improvement in depressive symptoms is being assessed and compared between the two treatment groups. An additional 2 weeks of treatment are provided for participants who did not respond during the first 2 weeks, as well as to those who were randomly assigned to the sham therapy group. After treatment completion, all participants are followed up for 2 months by a study clinician. Preliminary results from the study are being presented at the 166th American Psychiatric Association Annual Conference in May 2013.

New York University Medical Center- Preeti Raghavan, MD is in charge of a pilot study investigating the relationship between attention and emotional function post-TBI in an effort to better understand the cognitive and autonomic mechanisms of emotional processing in patients with TBI, and to explore novel treatment strategies to improve emotional regulation using tDCS to modulate activity in the dysfunctional prefrontal-limbic circuits.

University of Maryland – A study of CES and it’s effect on reducing depression in Parkinson’s subjects, with Gad Alon, PhD, and William Weiner, Chair, Department of Neurology.

McLean Hospital (Harvard Medical School)  – A pilot study of civilian patients with PTSD and its treatment with CES, with Scott Lukas, Chiarman, Center for Neuroimaging, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts.

University of Toledo - A pilot study of migraine sufferers and its treatment using CES, with Debra Gmerek PhD, et al., Associate Dean for Research, University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.