4. Oscillations in Brain Networks as Therapeutic Targets: Identification, Engagement, and Validation

Abstract

Originally, the rhythmic structure of brain activity was dismissed as a meaningless side product of neuronal activity. More recently, it has become increasingly clear that rhythmic signals generated by brain networks play an important causal role in cognition and behavior. These network oscillations exhibit relatively specific deficits in psychiatric disorders. This plenary talk will show how the advent of non-invasive brain stimulation for modulating cortical oscillations has provided groundbreaking insights into the causal role of oscillations in physiological and pathological brain function. The confluence of engineering, biology, and medicine has recently enabled the rational design of the next generation of therapeutic strategies that target these network oscillations for the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia. The talk will conclude with an outlook into the future what psychiatry enabled by network neuroscience may look like.