Brain stimulation therapeutics for mental health disorders: from concept to clinical application

Common mental health disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD) affect large numbers of Australians but are poorly treated with existing therapies. Many patients experience persistent symptoms or frequent relapse. A number of forms of non-invasive brain stimulation havedemonstrated value in the treatment of MDD and rTMS and are now being used widely in clinical practice and transcanial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the treatment of MDD was recently recommended for funding by the Medicare Services Advisory Committee in response to anapplication led by Prof Fitzgerald. However, there are significant limitations with the way that these new therapies are being applied that the proposed research will address.