Center for Neuromodulation

Offering Hope and Help for Mental Health Disorders in Central Massachusetts 

The Center for Neuromodulation at UMass Memorial Health is the only center in New England offering advanced neuromodulation therapies for difficult-to-treat mental health disorders. Treatment-resistant disorders don’t improve with traditional medications and psychotherapy.

What Is Neuromodulation?

Neuromodulation therapies use magnetic or electrical energy to change brain activity. “Neuro” refers to nerves and “modulate” means to change or alter. These treatments work on nerve cells called neurons, which send signals (messages) to your brain and body. 
When certain neurons don’t work properly, they can negatively affect your mental well-being. Neuromodulation therapies change how neurons carry information to and from your brain. These therapies improve how the treated areas of your brain work.

Your Neuromodulation Care Team

It takes a team of highly skilled specialists to offer these advanced treatments. Our Center for Neuromodulation brings together the experts you need to get results.

You receive care from:

• Neurologists
• Neurosurgeons
• Psychiatric team members, including psychiatrists and psychologists

Types of Neuromodulation Therapies We Offer

Our team has deep expertise in several neuromodulation therapies. Your care team will discuss the best treatment option for you based on your diagnosis, symptoms and preferences. 

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) sends a safe, mild electrical current through your brain while you’re under anesthesia. The current causes a seizure or burst of electrical activity in your brain, changing the mood-regulating area of your brain. Most people get ECT several times a week for a total of up to 12 treatments.

ECT helps treat:

• Bipolar disorder
• Catatonic behavior
• Depression with psychosis
• Major depression and treatment-resistant depression 
• Schizophrenia
• Suicidal ideation

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a portable treatment that you do at home using a battery-operated device. The treatment is similar to ECT, changing the area of your brain that controls moods. The device delivers a steady stream of safe, painless electrical currents for up to 30 minutes a day. The currents travel through wires connected to electrodes (stickers) on your head and scalp. The electrical currents aren’t as powerful as ECT, so they don’t cause seizures. 

tDCS helps treat:

• Anxiety disorders
• Depression, including treatment-resistant depression
• Schizophrenia
• Substance use disorder

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) delivers safe, painless magnetic pulses to areas of your brain that regulate moods. The pulses change your brain’s electrical activity. You’re awake during treatment and don’t need anesthesia. Most people get TMS four or five times a week for up to six weeks.

We offer:

• Repetitive TMS (rTMS) to send recurring pulses to your brain. 
• Deep TMS (d-TMS) to send pulses deeper into certain areas of your brain.

TMS helps treat:

• Anxiety disorders
• Major depression and treatment-resistant depression
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Tourette disorder