The Build Them Up campaign is funding the creation of Canada’s first translational research clinic using non-invasive brain stimulation to treat depression in adolescents.
Despite COVID-19 delays across the health and research systems, the team has made significant strides in advancing innovative work that will help families well before the Centre opens.
Last January, they recruited Dr. Kayla Stone from Utrecht University in the Netherlands to lead the overall project. A rising star in experimental psychology, Dr. Stone and the team are planning to launch a number of important new studies this spring, including one to help pinpoint biological markers that would enable more accurate diagnosis and treatment for young people with major depressive disorder.
At the same time, the team plans to utilize transcranial magnetic stimulation
(TMS) and neuro-imaging technology to help young people with other conditions that commonly occur with depression. These conditions include:
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Anxiety disorders
Eating disorders
Thanks to you, specialists at the Alberta Children’s Hospital and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute continue to lead the nation in exploring brain stimulation as a novel therapy for children with brain-related disorders.