Sleep, Pain Catastrophizing, and Pain Intensity in Treatment Seeking Adults With Opioid Use Disorder.

Objectives: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a large, growing, and difficult-to-treat problem. It has been associated with poor sleep, which has a relationship of mutual exacerbation with pain. These interrelationships have prompted interest in how pain catastrophizing (pain-related distortions of cognition), interacts with pain and sleep quality and quantity in those with OUD.

TMS-induced modulation of brain networks and its associations to rTMS treatment for depression: a concurrent fMRI-EEG-TMS study.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) is an established intervention for treatment-resistant depression (TRD), yet the underlying therapeutic mechanisms remain not fully understood. This study employs an integrative approach that combines TMS with concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), aimed at assessing the acute/immediate effects of TMS on brain network dynamics and their correlation with clinical outcomes. Our study demonstrates that TMS acutely modulates connectivity within vital brain circuits, particularly the cognitive control and default mode networks.

Vagus nerve stimulation in treatment-resistant depression: A one-year, randomized, sham-controlled trial.

Background: Few treatments are available for individuals with marked treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Objective: Evaluate the safety and effectiveness of FDA-approved adjunctive vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in patients with marked TRD.

Methods: This 12-month, multicenter, double-blind, sham-controlled trial included 493 adults with marked treatment-resistant major depression who were randomized to active or no-stimulation sham VNS for 12 months.

Effects of vagus nerve stimulation on daily function and quality of life in markedly treatment-resistant major depression: Findings from a one-year, randomized, sham-controlled trial.

Background: Depression treatments aim to minimize symptom burden and optimize quality of life (QoL) and psychosocial function.

Objective: Compare the effects of adjunctive versus sham vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) on QoL and function in markedly treatment-resistant depression (TRD).

Methods: In this multicenter, double-blind, sham-controlled trial, 493 adults with TRD and ≥4 adequate but unsuccessful antidepressant treatment trials (current episode) were randomized to active (n = 249) or sham (n = 244) VNS (plus treatment as usual) over a 12-month observation period.

Left Atrial Appendage Closure after Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Oral anticoagulation is recommended after ablation for atrial fibrillation among patients at high risk for stroke. Left atrial appendage closure is a mechanical alternative to anticoagulation, but data regarding its use after atrial fibrillation ablation are lacking.

Methods: We conducted an international randomized trial involving 1600 patients with atrial fibrillation who had an elevated score (≥2 in men and ≥3 in women) on the CHADS-VASc scale (range, 0 to 9, with higher scores indicating a greater risk of stroke) and who underwent catheter ablation.

Concurrent tDCS-fMRI after stroke reveals link between attention network organization and motor improvement.

Restoring motor function after stroke necessitates involvement of numerous cognitive systems. However, the impact of damage to motor and cognitive network organization on recovery is not well understood. To discover correlates of successful recovery, we explored imaging characteristics in chronic stroke subjects by combining noninvasive brain stimulation and fMRI.

Clinical recommendations for non-invasive ultrasound neuromodulation.

Non-invasive ultrasound neuromodulation has experienced exponential growth in the neuroscientific literature, recently also including clinical studies and applications. However, clinical recommendations for the secure and effective application of ultrasound neuromodulation in pathological brains are currently lacking. Here, clinical experts with neuroscientific expertise in clinical brain stimulation and ultrasound neuromodulation present initial clinical recommendations for ultrasound neuromodulation with relevance for all ultrasound neuromodulation techniques.

Update on the assessment of resistance to antidepressant treatment: Rationale for the Antidepressant Treatment History Form: Short Form-2 (ATHF-SF2).

All definitions of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) require that patients have experienced insufficient benefit from one or more adequate antidepressant trials. Thus, identifying "failed, adequate trials" is key to the assessment of TRD. The Antidepressant Treatment History Form (ATHF) was one of the first and most widely used instruments that provided objective criteria in making these assessments.

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation may benefit from the addition of N-acetylcysteine to facilitate motor learning in infants of diabetic mothers failing oral feeds.

Objective: This study aims to determine if pretreating with enteral N-acetylcysteine (NAC) improves CNS oxidative stress and facilitates improvement in oromotor skills during transcutaneous auricular nerve stimulation (taVNS) paired with oral feedings in infants of diabetic mothers (IDMs) who are failing oral feeds.

Methods: We treated 10 IDMs who were gastrostomy tube candidates in an open-label trial of NAC and taVNS paired with oral feeding. NAC (75 or 100 mg/kg/dose) was given by nasogastric (NG) administration every 6 h for 4 days, then combined with taVNS paired with 2 daily feeds for another 14 days.

Brain stimulation therapeutics.

This chapter covers how repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) presently affects smoking cessation. 14 human studies have examined the efficacy of rTMS on cue craving, cigarette consumption, or smoking cessation using a variety of different coils, locations, and treatment parameters. These studies included 7 randomized-controlled trials (RCT) and 7 experimental studies.

Pairing taVNS and CIMT is feasible and may improve upper extremity function in infants.

In this study we combined non-invasive transcutaneous auricular vagal nerve stimulation (taVNS) with 40 h of constraint induced movement therapy (CIMT) in infants. All infants completed the full intervention with no adverse events. Therapists were able to maintain high treatment fidelity and reported high ratings for ease of use and child tolerance.

The evolution of neuromodulation for chronic stroke: From neuroplasticity mechanisms to brain-computer interfaces.

Stroke is one of the most common and debilitating neurological conditions worldwide. Those who survive experience motor, sensory, speech, vision, and/or cognitive deficits that severely limit remaining quality of life. While rehabilitation programs can help improve patients' symptoms, recovery is often limited, and patients frequently continue to experience impairments in functional status.

Biomarkers predict the efficacy of closed-loop rTMS treatment for refractory depression.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive FDA-approved therapy for major depressive disorder (MDD), specifically for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Though offering promise for those with TRD, its effectiveness is less than one in two patients (i.e.

Improved naming in patients with Broca's aphasia with tDCS.

Background: Language impairment (aphasia) is a common neurological deficit after strokes. For individuals with chronic aphasia (beyond 6 months after the stroke), language improvements with speech therapy (ST) are often limited. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising approach to complement language recovery but interindividual variability in treatment response is common after tDCS, suggesting a possible relationship between tDCS and type of linguistic impairment (aphasia type).

Is an uncomplicated postoperative recovery following total pelvic exenteration a more important prognostic factor than achieving R0 in the first 2 years?

Aim: Total pelvic exenteration (TPE) can achieve an R0 resection in locally advanced and recurrent rectal cancer (LARC and RRC) and remains the only curative option. The resultant high morbidity creates prolonged complex recoveries, rendering patients unfit for adjuvant chemotherapy. This study aims to evaluate the impact of this on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) as it has not been studied previously.

EEG synchronized left prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for treatment resistant depression is feasible and produces an entrainment dependent clinical response: A randomized controlled double blind clinical trial.

Background: Synchronizing a TMS pulse with a person's underlying EEG rhythm can modify the brain's response. It is unclear if synchronizing rTMS trains might boost the antidepressant effect of TMS. In this first-in-human trial, we demonstrated that a single TMS pulse over the prefrontal cortex produces larger effects in the anterior cingulate depending on when it is fired relative to the individual's EEG alpha phase.

A preliminary randomized controlled trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in treatment seeking participants with cannabis use disorder.

Background: Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is a common and consequential disorder. When applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) reduces craving across substance use disorders and may have therapeutic clinical effects when applied in serial-sessions. The present study sought to preliminarily determine whether serial-sessions of rTMS applied to the DLPFC had a therapeutic effect in CUD.