Faculty of Science

Dr Paul Briley

Clinical Assistant Professor in General Adult Psychiatry

paul.briley@nottingham.ac.uk

Currently, there are large differences in the amount of benefit that different people with depression or anxiety get from TMS. I am developing ways to improve the number of people who benefit from TMS, the amount of benefit they obtain, and the speed with which they improve. To do this, I am exploring ways to combine TMS with other neuromodulation approaches – particularly transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), which delivers weak electrical stimulation using pads placed on the scalp, and focussed ultrasound stimulation (FUS), which uses high-frequency sound waves to stimulate deeper brain regions. 

These additional techniques could be used before TMS, or at the same time as TMS, to make key brain regions or communication pathways more receptive to the effects of TMS. Working closely with people with lived experience of depression and anxiety conditions, I am identifying promising approaches to take forward to clinical trials. 

Paul B 400x400
 

N3Centre Research Interests

Clinical translation and application of neurotechnology

 

 

Key Publications

  • Briley PM et al  Trajectories of improvement with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant major depression in the BRIGhTMIND trial. npj Mental Health Research, 3:32. (2024) doi: 10.1038/s44184-024-00077.

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  • Briley PM et al. Intermittent theta burst stimulation with synchronised transcranial alternating current stimulation leads  to enhanced frontal theta oscillations and a positive shift in emotional bias. Imaging Neuroscience, 2,. (2024) doi: 10.1162/imag_a_00073

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  • Briley PM et al. Magnetic resonance imaging connectivity features associated with response to transcranial magnetic stimulation in major depressive disorder. Psychiatry Research:Neuroimaging, 342, 111846. (2024) doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2024.111846

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  • Morriss R et al. Connectivity-guided intermittent theta burst versus repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression: a randomized controlled trial. Nature Medicine, 30, 403-413. (2024) doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02764-z.

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  • Briley PM et al. Resting-state functional connectivity correlates of anxiety co-morbidity in major depressive disorder. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 138, 104701. (2022) doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104701

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Faculty of Science

The University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD