Mechanistic clinical trial of individualized tDCS for hallucinations in schizophrenia

Project Narrative Persistent treatment-resistant auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) affect a third of patients with schizophrenia and can cause increased aggression, distress, suicide, and social dysfunction. This project will investigate the efficacy of individualized high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation in alleviating AVH, explore hypotheses regarding brain circuits involved in AVH, and prepare the candidate for a career developing cutting edge noninvasive brain stimulation techniques for neuropsychiatric disorders. The results of this project will guide future larger clinical trials, increase the understanding of mechanisms underlying AVH, and potentially reveal a direct benefit of individualized and neurobiologically motivated brain stimulation for AVH.