U of M study looking to boost mental health therapy with the help of electricity
A team at the University of Manitoba is making first-line mental health treatment more accessible.
They're doing it by teaching people mental health skills virtually, which is also opening up opportunities for new therapies to be studied at the same time.
MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH
As part of his research, the U of M’s Ji Hyun Ko points electrodes at two mental health brain hot spots.
"Our hypothesis is if we excite these neurons simultaneously in the two different regions, they will communicate more and strengthen their connectivity,” said ko, an assistant professor of human anatomy and cell science.
The targets were discovered by Ko using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
With these findings, he's now using a newer piece of technology called high definition transcranial direct current stimulation or HD-tDCS to see if exciting nearby brain cells has any benefit to patients already practicing cognitive behavioural therapy with mindfulness (CBTm)
"When we are combining the brain stimulation technique with CBTm, perhaps we can synergize the behavioural benefits of CBTm intervention,” Ko said.
Ko explained CBTm is the standard first-line psychotherapy for many mental illnesses, and classes are currently being offered to Manitobans on waitlists through a different project.
"We are going to ask these individuals if they are interested in participating in this optional neural imaging slash brain stimulation study,” Ko said.
Ko noted the goal is to test this type of stimulation and establish whether or not it can bolster the benefits of cognitive behavioural therapy.
If it does, he said the treatment has the potential to be customizable.
"Perhaps eventually the patient can bring the stimulator home and do self-administration of brain stimulation or with some caregiver help,” he said.
For this to happen, Health Canada would need to give its stamp of approval.
More information on CBTm can be found here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'