A technological breakthrough, being tested in Brisbane, which interacts directly with the brain has the potential to provide a new tool to combat the mental health crisis.
In a new study led by the University of Oxford, in collaboration with Australian neurotech startup Resonait Medical Technologies, neuroscientists explored brain networks which co-ordinate daily functions, like sensory processing, memory, introspection and decision making, which, when they breakdown, often cause mental illnesses.
Study lead author and Resonait founder Dr Cameron Higgins said researchers found the brain networks activated in periodic cycles that recurred every 300-1,000 milliseconds.
Dr Higgins said the speed and strength of these cycles related to genetics, behaviour and were shown to get stronger and slower as we aged.
“These cyclical patterns provide a framework for devices to interact with the brain,” he said.
“We know that brain networks regulate cognitive state, and that the balance of these brain networks breaks down in mental illness.
“To date, all available mental health therapies operate on these networks indirectly – for example by pharmaceutical means, or by training people to alter these networks through cognitive behaviour therapies.
“But we now have the technology to measure these networks in real-time, and interact with them directly.”
Dr Higgins said Resonait had developed a prototype device, being tested by research partners including Brisbane-based QIMR Berghofer, for the treatment of depression, with their first clinical trials planned for 2026.
He said beyond this immediate application, the fact that brain networks activated in cycles may have much broader application for neurotechnologies that interacted directly with the brain.
Read the full study: Large-scale cortical functional networks are organized in structured cycles.
