The Connectome Project: Mapping the Brain to Treat Mental Health Conditions

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans have allowed physicians to look more closely at the brain and how it works. Today, medical experts aren’t just using this technology to examine brain tissue, spot tumors or identify bleeding. A specific type of MRI known as a functional MRI (fMRI) is being used on an ongoing investigational basis to delve into how one’s brain works by studying minute changes in blood flow. 

Using fMRI scans to better understand brain function and structure, researchers have initiated what they’re calling the Human Connectome Project. The goal is to map the neural pathways in the brain. And that work has already yielded significant fruit in the form of highly effective mental health treatment.

Zooming Out: What fMRI Scans Tell Us About the Brain

You might have heard of the human genome project, which mapped all of the genes in the human genome. The connectome project is similar, but its aim is to understand the circuits of the brain, how they connect, and how that impacts our thinking and feeling. 

Fortunately, technological advancement has helped here. As fMRI scans have advanced, so has the resulting imaging. Today, researchers don’t just get a still picture. They can get an extended scan that shows how blood flow and oxygen move in the brain over time. That indicates which parts of the brain are more active.

Researchers noticed that in these video-like scans, certain parts of the brain activate together in a coordinated fashion. They discerned that when brain areas were simultaneously activated, it indicated that those two parts were “wired” together in one circuit. 

As more circuits are identified and linked to different brain functions, this research is unlocking advancements in mental health treatment.

A Natural Experiment: What We Learned from Head Injuries in Vietnam Veterans

For example, researchers analyzed the fMRI scans of Vietnam veterans with brain injuries as a result of shrapnel hitting their heads. Some of the veterans developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while others didn’t. 

The researchers then looked at where the shrapnel hit the head and how that impacted the veteran’s mental wellness. They theorized that in veterans without PTSD, the injury to that part of the brain interrupted the PTSD circuit, protecting the person from this mental health condition.

With neuromodulation, they could then target and stimulate the neurons in the brain’s PTSD circuit to treat veterans with this condition. This research is in its early phases but already shows promising results — so promising that academic journals have already published them.

Using Brain Mapping to Address Mental Health Challenges

The usefulness of fMRI scans doesn’t stop with PTSD. Here at Delve Psychiatry, board-certified psychiatrist John Reitano, MD, uses brain scanning to personalize neuromodulation treatment. 

Specifically, he and our team use transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a safe, noninvasive option to activate certain parts of your brain. Backed by the fMRI scan of your brain, Dr. Reitano is implementing these investigational approaches by creating a TMS treatment plan that specifically targets the circuits in your brain that are underperforming, overactive, or otherwise contributing to mental health challenges. 

Here at Delve, we primarily use fMRI scan-supported TMS therapy to address treatment-resistant depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). If you want to learn more about how this leading-edge option could help you, schedule an appointment with our team today.