Grant: Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Patients with schizophrenia have been shown to have cognitive deficits (such as problems with memory and attention), which have been demonstrated to be strong predictors of patient outcome and quality of life. As a result there has been an increased focus towards treatment methods designed to overcome these cognitive impairments. A brain stimulation treatment called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) works by sending a magnetic pulse through the scalp and has shown promise for improving cognitive deficits. TMS is non-invasive and well tolerated with few side effects. Forty patients will be given four weeks of TMS treatment, where we will observe whether cognitive abilities are improved. This study will also use brain imaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI) to understand how activity within a patient's brain is changed by TMS. In particular, we are interested in determining if the pattern of brain activity is 'normalized' towards that of healthy controls, or if there is a compensation mechanism in which a different pattern of brain activity is observed. This will help us understand the cognitive deficits in patients and how we should go about treating them. A second branch of research will use an innovative new research method called TMS-fMRI, in which we can measure changes in brain activity across a wide range of brain areas when we stimulate a specific region. This technique is technically challenging and has only been implemented in a few centers across the world. TMS-fMRI is a powerful method for understanding brain networks involved in specific tasks, such as memory. This method will be used to examine how neural networks in patients differ from those of controls when performing a memory task. This will put us on the forefront of an innovative and exciting new avenue of research into understanding cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, as well as setting Canada up as a world leader in the use of this innovative research technique.