
Noninvasive electrical stimulation of the brain, fine-tuned to specific “circuitry” gone awry, might help ease obsessive-compulsive behaviors, an early study hints. Researchers found that the brain stimulation, delivered over five days, reduced obsessive-compulsive tendencies for three months, though in people who did not have full-blown obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It’s too early to say whether the approach can be translated into an OCD therapy, said researcher Shrey Grover, a PhD student in psychological and brain sciences at Boston University. “We need more research to replicate these findings. It will take time before this is widely available.” But the work, described online Jan. 18 in Nature Medicine, builds on a body of research into the underpinnings of OCD. Research has shown that people with OCD have difficulty processing “rewards” from the environment, Grover explained. So they become reliant on certain rituals, whether it’s compulsively washing their hands, making sure household items are placed a particular way or checking that appliances are turned off. Scientists have also found that certain brain activity patterns are associated with those symptoms. In fact, abnormalities in the brain’s circuitry are involved in a number of psychiatric conditions, according to Dr. Alon Mogilner, director of the Center for Neuromodulation at NYU Langone Health, in New York City. “Neuromodulation” is a broad term for therapies that use electrical pulses to alter the firing patterns… read on > read on >