Andre Russowsky Brunoni

• MD, PhD
• University of São Paulo

Background Social environment characteristics, including social relationships and cultural milieus, may influence the occurrence, course and management of depression. Effective questionnaires are needed to measure these factors and improve disease management. Objective We aimed to (1) evaluate the social environment, such as social isolation, soci...

Introduction Despite the high lifetime prevalence and elevated disability rates, treatments for obsessive‐compulsive disorder (OCD) have limited efficacy. Considering the abnormal connectivity in the cortical‐striatal‐thalamic‐cortical loop circuits in OCD, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have addressed the efficacy of different non‐inv...

Objective: Limited data are available to inform clinicians on how to manage concurrent substance use in the context of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for the treatment of depressive, obsessive-compulsive, psychotic, or trauma-related disorders. The authors convened an international panel of 24 rTMS experts, representative of di...

Purpose Previous research indicates a higher prevalence of glaucoma in Black individuals of African descent. However, the association between race and glaucoma in Brazil’s multiracial population remains underexplored. This study examines this association and seeks to identify preventable factors potentially influencing prevalence differences among...

Depression is a common and debilitating disorder affecting millions. First-line treatments fail to achieve remission in about one-third of patients, highlighting a critical treatment need. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has emerged as a novel treatment for depression. Therefore, the aim of this review was to provide a comprehensive...

Importance Intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) is an established treatment for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Sessions conducted more than once daily (ie, accelerated TBS [aTBS]) may enhance antidepressant effects. However, evidence is limited to small trials, and protocols are time-consuming and can require neuroimaging-based target...

Objective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is heterogeneous. While transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an effective treatment, its impact on symptoms remains underexplored. This ancillary study investigated home-use tDCS effects on depression symptom clusters. Methods: Data were from the Psylect study, where 210 depressed patients...

Antidepressant treatments are theorised to act by inducing a positive bias in information processing early on during treatment. Here, we tested for the first time whether this theory generalises to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment, an effective therapy for treatment-resistant depression. 49 patients with major depression received 2...

In the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations for 2030, mental health has been identified as a global priority, emphasizing the need to reduce the prevalence, morbidity, and premature mortality associated with mental disorders [...]

Objective: To identify the COVID-19 impact on well-being/mental health, coping strategies and risk factors in adolescent worldwide. Method: Anonymous online multi-national/language survey in the general population (representative/weighted non-representative samples, 14-17years), measuring change in well-being (WHO-5/range=0-100) and psychopathology...

Background While headache disorders are linked to low physical activity levels, the impact of depression on this relationship is unclear. Objective To assess how single and comorbid diagnoses of migraine and tension‐type headache (TTH) interact with depression and leisure‐time physical activity (LTPA) levels in The Brazilian Longitudinal Study of...

Background/Objectives Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation intervention that shows promise as a potential treatment for depression. However, the clinical efficacy of tDCS varies, possibly due to individual differences in head anatomy affecting tDCS dosage. While functional changes in brain activity are...

Introduction: Smartphone app interventions based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are promising scalable alternatives for treating mental disorders, but the evidence of their efficacy for postpartum depression is limited. We assessed the efficacy of Motherly, a standalone CBT-based smartphone app, in reducing symptoms of postpartum depression...

Objective Gender differences may interfere with the association between Negative Life Events (NLEs) and prevalent/incident depression. This study evaluated the effect of gender in this association using data from the ELSA-Brazil cohort. Methods The authors analyzed 15,088 participants (mean age, 52.1 (9.1), 54.4 % women). NLEs (robbery, hospitaliz...

Machine-learning (ML) classification may offer a promising approach for treatment response prediction in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) undergoing non-invasive brain stimulation. This analysis aims to develop and validate such classification models based on easily attainable sociodemographic and clinical information across two random...

There is no multi-country/multi-language study testing a-priori multivariable associations between non-modifiable/modifiable factors and validated wellbeing/multidimensional mental health outcomes before/during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, studies during COVID-19 pandemic generally do not report on representative/weighted non-probability sample...

Objectives: This study aimed to assess longitudinal patterns of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress symptoms, as well as their predictors, in a reference hospital workforce during the first two waves of the pandemic in Brazil. Methods: Data were collected between July 2020 and June 2021 (N = 1,078). Anxiety, depression, and posttraumat...

Introduction Despite its high lifetime prevalence rate and the elevated disability caused by posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), treatments exhibit modest efficacy. In consideration of the abnormal connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and amygdala in PTSD, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) addressing the effic...

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) modulates the autonomic nervous system by activating deeper brain areas via top‐down pathway. However, effects on the nervous system are heterogeneous and may depend on the amount of current that penetrates. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the variable effects of tDCS...

International studies measuring wellbeing/multidimensional mental health before/ during the COVID-19 pandemic, including representative samples for >2 years, identifying risk groups and coping strategies are lacking. COH-FIT is an online, international, anonymous survey measuring changes in well-being (WHO-5) and a composite psychopathology P-score...

Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) probing the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been shown to have little effect on working memory. The variability of NIBS responses might be explained by inter-subject brain anatomical variability. We investigated whether baseline cortical brain thickness of regions of interest was associated with work...

INTRODUCTION: Despite being considered least important for clinical practice in the pyramid of evidence for recommendations, sometimes scientists' expert opinions could help to better understand the summarization of updated publications. OBJECTIVE: To provide a major summarized update about brain imaging and stimulation of the nervous system in hea...

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) modulates the autonomic nervous system by activating deeper brain areas via top-down pathway. However, effects on the nervous system are heterogeneous and may depend on the amount of current that penetrates the brain due to individual brain anatomical differences. Therefo...

Background Distorted thoughts are common in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and can impact patients’ perceptions of depression severity, and predict chronicity and treatment response. This study aimed to investigate whether distorted thoughts mediate depressive symptoms in MDD over a 6-month period. Method These are secondary results from a study...

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD), characterized by the failure to achieve symptomatic remission despite multiple pharmacotherapeutic treatments, poses a significant challenge for clinicians. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective but limited option due to its cognitive side effects. In this context, magnetic seizure therapy (MST) has e...

Long Covid is a term used for patients who have recovered from COVID-19 but exhibit persistent cognitive dysfunction, including mental confusion, difficulties in attention, impairment in executive functions and slow movements, among other common symptoms. A study was conducted with 65 patients who had a positive RT-PCR diagnosis and reported sympto...

Chronic pain is a frequent and burdensome non-motor symptom of Parkinson Disease (PD). PD-related chronic pain can be classified as nociceptive, neuropathic or nociplastic, the former being the most frequent subtype. However, differences in neurphysiologic profiles between these pain subtypes, their potential prognostic and therapeutic implications...

Interest in neurostimulation interventions has significantly grown in recent decades, yet a scientometric analysis objectively mapping scientific knowledge and recent trends remains unpublished. Using relevant keywords, we conducted a search in the Web of Science Core Collection on September 23, 2022, retrieving a total of 47,681 documents with 987...

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the prefrontal cortex has the potential to enhance working memory by means of a weak direct current applied to the scalp. However, its effects are highly variable and possibly dependent on individual variability in cortical architecture and head anatomy. Unveiling sources of heterogeneity might im...

Even though suicide is a relatively preventable poor outcome, its prediction remains an elusive task. The main goal of this study was to develop machine learning classifiers to identify increased suicide risk in Brazilians with common mental disorders. With the use of clinical and sociodemographic baseline data (n = 4039 adult participants) from a...

Objective We performed a meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, controlled trials (RCTs) to systematically investigate the therapeutic effects and tolerability of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) for the treatment of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods Electronic search of PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Chinese...

Introduction The evaluation of brain plasticity can provide relevant information for the surgical planning of patients with brain tumors, especially when it comes to intrinsic lesions such as gliomas. Neuronavigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) is a non-invasive tool capable of providing information about the functional map of the cereb...

Introduction: Prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) shows promise as an effective treatment for depression. However, factors influencing treatment and the time-course of symptom improvements remain to be elucidated. Methods: Individual participant data was collected from ten randomised controlled trials of tDCS in depression....

Background: South America's substance use profile, poverty, income inequality, and cocaine-supplier role make it a unique place for substance use research. This study investigated the burden of disease attributable to amphetamine use disorder, cannabis use disorder (CAD), cocaine use disorder, and opioid use disorder (OUD) in South America from 19...

Introduction: We aimed to investigate the association of frailty with persistent and incident common mental disorders (CMD) in older adults during the pandemic. Methods: We included 706 older adults who participated in the onsite wave of the ELSA-Brasil study (2017-2019) and the online COVID-19 assessment (May-July 2020). CMD were assessed in bo...

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been showing promising effects for the treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), but there is still no conclusion on its efficacy for this disorder. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of trials using tDCS for OCD and a computer modeling analysis to evaluate the electric fiel...

Introduction: Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and depression comorbidity has been recognized, but its directionality is still uncertain. The aims of this study was to assess the association between depression (diagnosis and severity) and MetS (components, diagnosis and trajectory) in the baseline and over a 4-year follow-up period. Material and methods...

BACKGROUND: With the increasing meta-analysis studies of noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) a major review has become a logical step to provide evidence to support decision-makers. OBJECTIVE: Umbrella reviews of the Working-Group of NAPeN Network (a Brazilian scientific network for NIBS development) will summarize the results of existing evidence...

Background: With the increasing meta-analysis studies of noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) a major review has become a logical step to provide evidence to support decision-makers. Objective: Umbrella reviews of the Working-Group of NAPeN Network (a Brazilian scientific network for NIBS development) will summarize the results of existing evidence...

Background: With the increasing meta-analysis studies of noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) a major review has become a logical step to provide evidence to support decision-makers. Objective: Umbrella reviews of the Working-Group of NAPeN Network (a Brazilian scientific network for NIBS development) will summarize the results of existing evidence...

Objective We investigated whether baseline cortical brain thickness of regions of interest (ROIs) was associated with working memory (WM) performance after non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) probing the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Method Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging data were analyzed from 22 healthy subjects who received t...

Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) interventions are promising for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. Notwithstanding, the NIBS mechanisms of action over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a hub that modulates affective and cognitive processes, have not been completely mapped. We aimed to investigate regional cerebral blood flow (r...

Importance: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) may improve symptoms of inattention in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, previous trials are characterized by small sample sizes, heterogeneous methodologies, and short treatment periods using clinic-based tDCS. Objective: To determine the efficacy and...

Background Late life depression (LLD) refers to major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults over 65 years. LLD is associated with high morbidity and poor treatment outcomes. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a novel treatment for MDD. Efficacy in LLD though is unclear. Our aim was to investigate tDCS efficacy by pooling randomised con...

Introduction: The brain tumor is frequently related to severe motor impairment and impacts the quality of life. The corticospinal tract can sometimes be affected depending on the type and size of the neoplasm, so different tools can evaluate motor function and connections. It is essential to organize surgical procedures and plan the approach. Func...

Repeated cognitive assessment in longitudinal studies favors the occurrence of retest effects, usually increasing the scores obtained at the follow-up assessments when compared to baseline. Therefore, retest effects can compromise the evaluation of cognitive decline in older adults. Objectives: We aimed to verify the occurrence of the retest effe...

Objective Treatment-refractory auditory hallucinations (TRAH) in schizophrenia poorly respond to pharmacotherapy. We performed a meta-analysis of randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled studies (RCTs) that systematically examined the therapeutic effects and tolerability of adjunctive active versus sham tDCS for auditory hallucinations as measur...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with persistent, low-degree inflammation, which could explain the increased prevalence of autoimmune conditions and accelerated aging among patients. The aim of the present study is to assess which inflammatory and oxidative stress markers are associated with PTSD. We carried out a meta-anal...

Cohort studies have displayed mixed findings on changes in mental symptoms severity in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak started. Network approaches can provide additional insights by analyzing the connectivity of such symptoms. We assessed the network structure of mental symptoms in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Health (ELSA-Brasil)...

Background: Optimum functioning of the central nervous system is dependent on a wide range of nutrients, so mental illness can be impacted by diet via several mechanisms. We aimed to investigate the associations of antioxidants (vitamin A, C and E, and selenium and zinc) and vitamin B complex (B6, folate and B12) intake with depression in 14,737 s...

Introduction: Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) as monotherapy has been increasingly used to enhance the activity of brain networks. However, it is unclear whether a combination of distinct NIBS approaches could enhance prefrontal cortical (PFC) activity. Objective: We propose to investigate the combined and standalone effects of two NIBS mo...

250/250 Background : The COVID-19 pandemic has altered daily routines and family functioning, led to closing schools, and dramatically limited social interactions worldwide. Measuring its impact on mental health of vulnerable children and adolescents is crucial. Methods : The Collaborative Outcome study on Health and Functioning during Infection...

Cognitive deficits and negative symptoms in schizophrenia are associated with poor functional outcomes and limited in terms of treatment. The Schizophrenia Treatment With Electric Transcranial Stimulation (STARTS) trial has shown efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for improving negative symptoms. In this secondary analysis,...

Obesity has recently been recognized as a neurocognitive disorder involving circuits associated with the reward system and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has been proposed as a strategy for the management of obesity. However, the results have been inconclusive. The aim of the current network meta-an...

Background: . High-quality comprehensive data on short-/long-term physical/mental health effects of the COVID�19 pandemic are needed. Methods: . The Collaborative Outcomes study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT) is an international, multi-language (n=30) project involving >230 investigators from 49 countries/territories/r...

Background Although social distancing is necessary to decrease COVID-19 dissemination, it might also be associated with suicidal ideation. Therefore, we analyzed the impact of social distancing and loneliness in suicidal ideation. Methods We performed two waves of a snowball sample, web-based survey in Brazil (W1: from May 6th to June 6th, 2020; W...

Background and aims Nicotine is a highly addictive substance in tobacco products that dysregulates several neurotransmitters in the brain and impairs executive function. Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) methods such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) are promising treatment...

Background Previous evidence supports the notion that the physical activity (PA) domain (leisure-time or transport), and the amount of time spent in PA, influence the association of PA with depressive and anxiety symptoms. However, no study evaluated the associations of different volumes of leisure-time PA (LTPA) and transport PA (TPA) with prevale...

Background Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques have been suggested as alternative treatments to decrease depression symptoms during the perinatal period. These include brain stimulation techniques that do not require surgery and that are nonpharmacological and non-psychotherapeutic. NIBS that have showed antidepressant effect so far in...

Aims The placebo response in depression clinical trials is a major contributing factor for failure to establish the efficacy of novel and repurposed treatments. However, it is not clear as to what the placebo response in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) patients is or whether it differs across treatment modalities. Our objective was to conduct...

Mixed depression is probably different in terms of clinical course and response to treatment. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is well established in non-mixed depression, and theta-burst stimulation (TBS) protocol is replacing conventional protocols because of noninferiority and reduced delivery time. However, TBS has not been a...

Introduction The associations of anxiety and depression with metabolic syndrome (MetS) are not consistent across studies. Anxiety and depression are highly correlated and traditional methods don't take the structure of this correlation into account. Our aim is to disentangle the relationship of these emotional conditions with MetS, using bifactor m...