Prof. Joan Camprodon

Dr. Joan Camprodon is the inaugural chief of the Division of Neuropsychiatry and Neuromodulation at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Harvard Medical School. Clinically, he is the founding director of the MGH Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) clinical service, a member of the Psychiatric Neurosurgery Committee, and an attending physician in the departments of Psychiatry (Neuropsychiatry) and Neurology (Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology). He is board-certified in Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurology-Neuropsychiatry.

Scientifically, he directs the Laboratory for Circuit Neuroscience and Neuromodulation. His research uses multimodal combinations of brain stimulation, neuroimaging, neurophysiology, and behavioral methods to investigate neural circuitry and plasticity in a translational manner. The scope of his research includes basic, translational, and clinical projects focused on human circuit neuroscience. Projects in his laboratory address (1) the anatomy, physiology, and behavioral computations of disease-relevant networks, (2) circuit-level pathophysiological mechanisms (with an emphasis on transdiagnostic processes and the role of plasticity), and (3) the translational development of tools to support clinical care and decision-making (e.g., biomarker discovery and treatment development). Critical efforts are geared towards applying the paradigms and methods of human systems/cognitive neuroscience to discover treatment targets that support the development of individualized precision therapeutics.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) has evolved since the mid-1980s from its initial role as an innovative tool to probe human motor neurophysiology in vivo, to a powerful therapeutic option for complex and treatment-resistant brain disorders. In this presentation, we will review our current understanding of the mechanisms of action of TMS highlighting recent evidence on its role in modulating maladaptive circuit dynamics. This circuit neuroscience approach, core to TMS research and clinical practice, has facilitated the implementation of an experimental medicine framework for the biomarker-driven development of therapeutic innovations. Critically, this paradigm shift in treatment discovery has placed TMS (and other neuromodulation technologies) at the forefront of precision psychiatry, in the specific form of precision neuromodulation, moving beyond population-based TMS protocols to patient-specific algorithms. We will review these concepts and highlight multiple recent examples of precision TMS innovations that are changing the clinical neurosciences and, importantly, offering new, safe, and effective therapies for patients with brain disorders. Finally, we will discuss some of the current challenges and future directions, including the need for treatment-selection algorithms in the face of rapidly emerging therapies with overlapping indications, and the complexities around training and professional development in the space of interventional psychiatry.

1. Camprodon JA, Pascual-Leone A. Multimodal Applications of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Circuit-Based Psychiatry. JAMA Psychiatry. 2016;73(4):407-8. Epub 2016/03/17. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.3127. PubMed PMID: 26981644.
2. Camprodon JA. Therapeutic Neuromodulation for Bipolar Disorder: The Case for Biomarker-Driven Treatment Development. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(3):e211055. Epub 2021/03/13. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.1055. PubMed PMID: 33710284.
3. Camprodon JA, Barbour T. Introduction. Interventional Neuropsychiatry and Neuromodulation: an emerging subspecialty in brain medicine. Harvard review of psychiatry. 2023;31(3):97-100. Epub 2023/05/12. doi: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000368. PubMed PMID: 37171470.
4. Wade B, Barbour T, Ellard K, Camprodon J. Predicting Dimensional Antidepressant Response to Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation using Pretreatment Resting-state Functional Connectivity. Res Sq. 2023. Epub 2023/08/23. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3204245/v1. PubMed PMID: 37609235; PMCID: PMC10441516.