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Updated: Nov 21, 2025

Individualized rTMS Treatment for Depression using an fMRI-Based Targeting Method
Published on: August 2, 2021
State-dependent responses to intracranial brain stimulation in a patient with depression
Katherine W Scangos1, Ghassan S Makhoul2, Leo P Sugrue3
1Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA. katherine.scangos@ucsf.edu.
Abstract:
Deep brain stimulation is a promising treatment for severe depression, but lack of efficacy in randomized trials raises questions regarding anatomical targeting. We implanted multi-site intracranial electrodes in a severely depressed patient and systematically assessed the acute response to focal electrical neuromodulation. We found an elaborate repertoire of distinctive emotional responses that were rapid in onset, reproducible, and context and state dependent. Results provide proof of concept for personalized, circuit-specific medicine in psychiatry.

