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Brain Sciences
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Brain Stimulation for Psychiatric Disorders: Emerging Evidence and New Perspectives—2nd...
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Brain Stimulation for Psychiatric Disorders: Emerging Evidence and New Perspectives—2nd Edition

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Neuropsychiatry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2025 | Viewed by 2117

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jacopo Lisoni

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Guest Editor
Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy
Interests: psychiatry; non-invasive neruostimulation; tDCS; depression; schizophrenia
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Stefano Barlati

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy
2. Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, ASST Spedali Civili of Brescia, 25123 Brescia, Italy
Interests: clinical psychiatry; schizophrenia; mood disorders; cognitive functions in severe mental illness; cognitive remediation in severe mental illness psychiatric rehabilitation in severe mental illness
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the introduction of neuromodulation treatments targeting specific neural circuits, we are rapidly approaching a new era in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. These interventions can be used for treatment purposes to not only enhance neuroplasticity and improve clinical manifestations but also translationally investigate the neurobiology behind mental health disorders and, combined with EEG or neuroimaging, they can be used to trace the effects of stimulation through brain networks.

Over recent decades, a host of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques have been employed in the treatment of mental health disorders (including depression, schizophrenia, OCD, PTSD, ADHD, autism, and substance use disorders), representing attractive alternatives, especially in the case of treatment-resistant conditions. NIBS techniques that use electromagnetic stimulation include repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and Theta burst stimulation (TBS), whereas electrical NIBS techniques that utilize small and wearables devices include transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS). Additional innovative neuromodulation interventions include magnetic seizure therapy (MST), which has a safer profile compared to classical electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).

For this Special Issue, we encourage researchers in this field to submit recent findings to add to the currently available data on NIBS applications in psychiatric disorders. Contributions should include results from translational research, clinical trial, open-label studies, case reports, protocol studies, reviews or meta-analyses. We especially welcome studies combining NIBS techniques with psychotherapy or cognitive training, functional neuroimaging, and EEG. Moreover, studies providing new data on parameters optimization, modeling, bioengineering, mechanisms of action, and invasive brain stimulation interventions are also welcome.

Dr. Jacopo Lisoni
Dr. Stefano Barlati
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and Theta burst stimulation (TBS)
  • transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) (transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS))
  • magnetic seizure therapy (MST)
  • depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders
  • schizophrenia and psychosis
  • obsessive–compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders
  • substance use disorders
  • neurodevelopmental disorders (ADHD, autism)
  • neuroimaging
  • neurophysiology
  • cognition

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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15 pages, 399 KiB  
Article
A Methodological Evaluation of Four Different Paired Associative Stimulation Paradigms in Healthy Controls
by Kenan Hodzic, Magnus Thordstein, Joakim Strandberg, Elisabet Jerlhag and Caroline E. Wass
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(5), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15050461 (registering DOI) - 27 Apr 2025
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Plasticity deficits play a key role in the pathophysiology of various psychiatric and neurological disorders. Paired associative stimulation (PAS) leverages Hebbian principles to induce synaptic plasticity in the human brain. By repeatedly pairing (1) the peripheral nerve stimulation of the median [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Plasticity deficits play a key role in the pathophysiology of various psychiatric and neurological disorders. Paired associative stimulation (PAS) leverages Hebbian principles to induce synaptic plasticity in the human brain. By repeatedly pairing (1) the peripheral nerve stimulation of the median nerve with (2) transcranial magnetic stimulation over the primary motor cortex (M1) at different inter-stimulus intervals (25 ms; PAS-25, or 10 ms; PAS-10), corticospinal excitability can be increased (PAS-25, mimicking long-term potentiation (LTP)) or decreased (PAS-10, mimicking long-term depression (LTD)). However, variations in the number of pairings and inter-pair intervals lack consensus. The aim of the study was to evaluate four different PAS paradigms, i.e., PAS-10 and PAS-25 with both 180 versus 225 pairings each, to establish the most reliable PAS protocols for LTP- and LTD-like cortical changes. Methods: In a randomized, double-blind, crossover study, 14 healthy participants underwent PAS-10 and PAS-25 with 180 and 225 pairings. Excitability was assessed by quantifying the EMG response amplitude of a hand muscle to a single stimulus. Results: PAS-25 with 225 pairings produced a robust enhancement of corticospinal excitability, while PAS-25 with 180 pairings was less effective. Surprisingly, PAS-10 with both 180 and 225 pairings also increased excitability. Conclusions: While all four PAS paradigms enhanced M1 excitability, PAS-25 with 225 pairings induced the strongest group-level effects and was most time-efficient. Significant individual variability of PAS responses suggests that optimizing PAS parameters, including pairing number and interstimulus intervals, may be necessary for personalized approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Stimulation for Psychiatric Disorders: Emerging Evidence and New Perspectives—2nd Edition)
12 pages, 952 KiB  
Article
Theta Burst TMS over the Pre-SMA Improves Inhibitory Control in Gambling Disorder Subjects as Assessed with Stop Signal Task
by Gioele Gavazzi, Carlo Cavaliere, Marco Salvatore, Nikolaos Makris and Stefano Pallanti
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(5), 448; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15050448 - 25 Apr 2025
Abstract
Background. Inhibitory control failure represents a central trait in substance and behavioral addictions, which includes patients affected with gambling disorder (GD). In GD patients, research on this trait of the addiction cycle has primarily focused on the use of pharmacological treatments for its [...] Read more.
Background. Inhibitory control failure represents a central trait in substance and behavioral addictions, which includes patients affected with gambling disorder (GD). In GD patients, research on this trait of the addiction cycle has primarily focused on the use of pharmacological treatments for its assessment. More recently, modification of neural activity using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used to explore the dimensions of GD using patient questionnaires. Methods. Herein, we evaluated the use of continuous Theta burst stimulation (cTBS) over the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) to determine if it modified inhibitory control in the stop signal task of patients affected by GD when compared with a group of healthy controls without cTBS treatment. Results. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to report that TMS treatment of GD patients is associated with a behavioral improvement of stop signal reaction time. Conclusion. Our results suggest that this TMS-mediated improvement in the efficiency of inhibitory control in GD patients warrants further mechanistic studies in a larger cohort to determine if can be used as a treatment modality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Stimulation for Psychiatric Disorders: Emerging Evidence and New Perspectives—2nd Edition)
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17 pages, 2368 KiB  
Article
Can Amygdala-Derived-EEG-fMRI-Pattern (EFP) Neurofeedback Treat Sleep Disturbances in PTSD?
by Aron Tendler, Yaki Stern and Tal Harmelech
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(3), 297; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15030297 - 12 Mar 2025
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Abstract
Background: Sleep disturbances are a core feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), affecting up to 90% of patients and often persisting after standard PTSD treatment. As all the current interventions have limitations, amygdala-targeted neuromodulation may offer a novel treatment pathway. Methods: Secondary analysis [...] Read more.
Background: Sleep disturbances are a core feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), affecting up to 90% of patients and often persisting after standard PTSD treatment. As all the current interventions have limitations, amygdala-targeted neuromodulation may offer a novel treatment pathway. Methods: Secondary analysis of a prospective, single-arm trial (n = 58) was carried out evaluating Prism™ amygdala-derived-EEG-fMRI-Pattern neurofeedback (Amyg-EFP-NF). Sleep outcomes were assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5) sleep item, PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) sleep item, and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) sleep items at baseline, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up. Treatment consisted of 15 sessions over 8 weeks. Results: At 3-months’ follow-up, 63.79% of participants demonstrated clinically meaningful reduction in sleep disturbances (≥1 point reduction in CAPS-5 Item 20). Sleep improvement showed a moderate correlation with overall PTSD symptom reduction (r = 0.484, p < 0.001) and a balanced improvement pattern (−15.1% early, −9.1% late). Sleep responders sustained improvement across multiple measures and showed significant increases in cognitive reappraisal (mean change: +2.57 ± 1.0, p = 0.006), while non-responders showed initial but un-sustained improvement in trauma-related dreams. Conclusions: Amyg-EFP-NF shows preliminary promise for treating PTSD-related sleep disturbances. Our exploratory analyses suggest distinct temporal patterns of sleep improvement and potential associations with enhanced cognitive reappraisal capacity that warrant rigorous investigation in future randomized controlled trials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Stimulation for Psychiatric Disorders: Emerging Evidence and New Perspectives—2nd Edition)
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