Researchers to study brain stimulation for bipolar disorder in world first

Researchers have received US$4.4m to conduct a world-first study of prefrontal cortical stimulation in severe bipolar disorder.

The funding, from Breakthrough Discoveries for Thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD²), will support research into how large-scale brain networks regulate mood and how manipulating these networks may contribute to shifts between depression and mania – the extreme mood states characteristic of the condition.

The study will test a novel brain stimulation method called personalised and adaptive cortico electrostimulation (PACE), which has shown potential in treating depressive symptoms.

The technique uses targeted electrical stimulation to adjust neural activity in specific brain regions.

The University of Minnesota Medical School research team, led by Dr Ziad Nahas, received the grant and aims to identify the mechanisms behind mood switching in bipolar disorder and determine the optimal stimulation settings to relieve symptoms.

Dr Nahas, who is also a psychiatrist with M Health Fairview, said: “The University of Minnesota is uniquely positioned to undertake this complex and cutting-edge proposal.

“A better understanding of what the neurobiological systems that govern bipolar disorder are and how to best modulate them will undoubtedly lead to better treatment options for a very debilitating and often deadly psychiatric illness.”

The third round of BD² Discovery Research grants were awarded to four teams across the US, all examining key mechanisms of bipolar disorder.

The University of Minnesota study aims to begin enrolling participants in 2026.