As a clinician, consultant psychiatrist, I have been instrumental in establishing the Centre for Neuromodulation Services, in collaboration with the University of Nottingham. My clinical research interests include neuroimaging and non-invasive brain stimulation modalities to investigate issues of translational importance, such as predicting symptom burden, treatment response, and prognostic accuracy in treatment-resistant depression and psychosis.
The objective of this centre is to provide both clinical and research services for studies involving neuromodulation. It is a specialist centre of international repute and successfully completed studies, which have paved the way for the development of innovative treatment protocols.
Our upcoming studies include collaborations with other universities to assess the feasibility of intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) for depression in adolescents. We have also partnered with King's College London to conduct a clinical trial on transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for depression. Additionally, Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) will be used to measure brain activity in depression, and low-intensity ultrasound stimulation will be explored for schizophrenia and depression. We have recently commenced the study, which involves EEG monitoring during Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT).
The Centre for Neuromodulation Services offers both clinical and research services for studies involving neuromodulation techniques to investigate issues of translational importance in clinical conditions such as depression and psychosis.
NIHR HTA grantHome-based transcranial direct current stimulation in major depressive disorder: a multi-centre, two-parallel group, superiority randomised controlled trial.
Key Publications
Webster, L., Boutry, C., Thomson, L., Abdelghani, M., Barber, S., Briley, P.M., Kurkar, M., Lankappa, S., McAllister-Williams, R.H., Di Paola, A.S. and Morriss, R., 2025. Acceptability, tolerability and safety of the BRIGhTMIND trial: Connectivity-guided intermittent theta-burst stimulation versus F3-repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 136, p.152544.
Morriss, R., Briley, P.M., Webster, L., Abdelghani, M., Barber, S., Bates, P., Brookes, C., Hall, B., Ingram, L., Kurkar, M. and Lankappa, S., 2024. Connectivity-guided intermittent theta burst versus repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression: a randomized controlled trial. Nature Medicine, 30(2), pp.403-413.
Drabek, M., Hodkinson, D., Horvath, S., Millar, B., Parraguez, S.P., Tench, C.R., Tanasescu, R., Lankappa, S., Morriss, R., Walsh, D. and Auer, D.P., 2023. Brain connectivity-guided, Optimised theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation to improve Central Pain Modulation in knee Osteoarthritis Pain (BoostCPM): protocol of a pilot randomised clinical trial in a secondary care setting in the UK. BMJ open, 13(10), p.e073378.
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Blanchard, C., De Dios Perez, B., Tindall, T., Clarkson, K., Felmban, G., Scheffler-Ansari, G., Periam, R., Lankappa, S., Constantinescu, C.S., das Nair, R. and Morriss, R., 2023. Trial protocol: Feasibility of neuromodulation with connectivity-guided intermittent theta-burst stimulation for improving cognition in multiple sclerosis. Open Medicine, 18(1), p.20230814.
The University of NottinghamUniversity Park Nottingham, NG7 2RD