Precision Medicine and Neuromodulation in ADHD and Depression

Research Institute Brainclinics: Applied Neuroscience, Neuromodulation and Personalized Medicine for ADHD and Depression.

Brainclinics was established in 2001 as a research institute specialized in Applied Neuroscience, Neuromodulation, and Personalized Medicine with a focus on ADHD and depression. More scientific backgrounds on Neurofeedback in ADHD and rTMS in depression can be found here. For more client related information on these topics also see the neuroCare Clinics website

Brainclinics conducts applied brain research (Applied Neuroscience) using of techniques such as EEG and QEEG, Actigraphy, Event Related Potentials (ERPs) and neuropsychological assessments.

iSPOT study of ADHD and Depression

Currently Research Institute Brainclinics is one of the international groups involved in the  iSPOT studies, which stands for International Study to Predict Optimised Treatment Response in ADHD (iSPOT-A) and Depression (iSPOT-D). This is the largest trial worldwide into the potential of Personalized Medicine also called Precision Medicine in more than 2000 depressed patients (who will be prescribed an antidepressant), and more than 500 children with ADHD prescribed with methylphenidate (eg Ritalin).

Applied Neuroscience

In the “Applied Neuroscience” section the history of these techniques and a historical review on diagnosis and prognosis of ADHD and Depression are presented. The first section describes the history from EEG to QEEG. The second part further elaborates on the EEG as a biomarker or endophenotype, followed by a historical overview of neurophysiological studies in ADHD and depression and an overview of models and theories about the interpretation of EEG and QEEG. Finally, some EEG examples for  subtypes can be found such as a Low-Voltage EEG and Beta spindles.

Personalized Medicine for ADHD and Depression

In the recent years Brainclinics has specialized to further explore the use of neurophysiological techniques in predicting treatment outcomes to different treatments such as psychostimulants (e.g. Ritalin), antidepressants (e.g. SSRIs), rTMS for depression and Neurofeedback in ADHD. This development is also called Personalized Medicine. Under the section Personalized Medicine and Neuromodulation, more information can be found on the current status of treatment efficacy in psychiatry and new developments in this area. In the section on ADHD a summary of the current state of research on Personalized Medicine in ADHD to various treatments is provided. In addition an explanatory model is proposed explaining how to interpret these different sub-types and how treatments for ADHD may be further improved based on this knowledge.

In the section on depression  the current status of research on Personalized Medicine for Depression is summarized and two subtypes that predict non-response to antidepressant treatments are described. In this section the possibilities for other treatments for these so-called non-responders are also described. Finally, a specific EEG endophenotype associated with non-response to various conventional treatments such as psychostimulants, antidepressants and rTMS, namely the Alpha Peak Frequency individual (iAPF) is described. This endophenotype is described in more detail and  suggestions for potential interventions that deserve further development are described.

Research, publications and education

For an overview of scientific publications, book chapters and books published by Brainclinics staff you can consult the Publications section or the Media section to read about the several media appearances of Brainclinics.

Have a look at an interactive model of the brain

Furthermore, Brainclinics also supports in the neuroCare neuroCademy workshops and training courses