Adam Woods | NavNeuro Podcast

Great overview on the current state of tDCS and TMS in the field of therapeutic non-invasive brain stimulation. Dr. John Bellone & Dr. Ryan Van Patten interview Dr. Adam Woods of the Woods Lab at the University of Florida. What was especially interesting to me was being reminded of the ongoing ‘ACT Study’ Augmenting cognitive training in older adults (The ACT Study): Design and Methods of a Phase III tDCS and cognitive training trial, which could be a game changer in the sense of providing a path to FDA-approved tDCS therapies. Also appreciated the information around higher current having the opposite of intended effects on brain tissue!

Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation – With Dr. Adam Woods from NavNeuro

Also enjoyed this discussion with Evolving Past Alzheimers from 2019
On Apple Podcasts here.

Brett Wingeier on the Kevin Rose Show

As long time readers would know I’m a hopeful skeptic when it comes to non-invasive brains stimulation. But the increasing amount of marketing around more and more devices is making it harder to parse the science from hype. It’s like – well they got away with saying ‘Three times faster’, so let’s go with ‘Faster than ever thought humanly possible’! Don’t buy it! Are there legit reasons to be excited about non-invasive brain stimulation? Absolutely! But playing guitar in ‘half the time’ or hitting holes in one… are not! It’s still early days.

With that in mind I do recommend this discussion between Kevin Rose (a venture capitalist) and Dr. Brett Wingeier of Halo Neuro. Although I feel Halo Neuro’s marketing department is making claims impossible to substantiate (subscribe to their mailing list if you want to see what I’m talking about), Dr Wingeier is very well versed in all the latest science around non-invasive brain stimulation and he discusses some of the more recent and exciting research.

Why In The World Would You Try Deep Brain Stimulation?

That’s what I remember thinking the first time I figured out that they were talking about opening your skull and planting electrodes into your brain. Then I thought… Imagine being so desperate that that would seem like a sensible next step in your course of treatment. And then I thought… Wouldn’t it be amazing if tDCS, Focused Ultrasound, or now Temporal Interference, could replicate the results without the surgery.

Recently the always excellent Invisibilia podcast covered DBS as applied to depression and OCD. We hear from the patient, her boyfriend and the doctors involved. I have a completely new understanding of the procedure and its effects. I highly recommend a listen to this episode.