About

Dr. Joan A Camprodon is an Associate Professor located at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research focuses on understanding the circuit properties of human neural networks and how maladaptive plastic changes lead to neuropsychiatric disorders. His work encompasses basic, translational, and clinical projects that investigate the anatomy and physiology of disease-relevant networks, as well as the mechanisms underlying these conditions at the circuit level, with an emphasis on transdiagnostic processes. His critical translational efforts aim to apply paradigms and methods from human systems and cognitive neuroscience to develop clinical tools that can change brain medicine practices. These include identifying biomarkers and predictors, discovering treatment targets, and designing individualized precision therapies, particularly through device-based neuromodulation techniques. His laboratory employs a wide range of methods, including noninvasive and invasive neuromodulation techniques such as transcranial electrical current stimulation (tECS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and deep brain stimulation (DBS). Additionally, he utilizes functional and structural MRI, EEG, and innovative combinations of TMS and tDCS with neuroimaging, alongside behavioral and clinical assays.

Research topics

• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Science
• Speech recognition
• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Virology

Selected publications

• Hierarchical cluster analysis reveals replicable trait approach-avoidance motivation profiles and heterogeneous dysfunction in mood disorders

  Journal of Affective Disorders · 2026-01-31

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Relearning the epistemology, history, and future of neuropsychiatry

  Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · 2026-03-02

  articleOpen access

  Neuropsychiatry is a transdisciplinary field at the intersection of neuroscience, psychiatry, neurology, and humanities. Despite this strategic position, a comprehensive framework is still needed to bridge these domains. This review examines the historical evolution of how neurological, mental, and neuropsychiatric symptoms have been conceptualized, from antiquity to contemporary models, using the brain-body dilemma as a guiding thread. This historical analysis provides the epistemological and ontological foundations of neuropsychiatry, which are then connected with current definitions to critically assess the field's persistent tensions. Building on this foundation, a renewed paradigm is proposed where a crosstalk between them is enabled, grounded in deep phenotyping, dimensional research frameworks [e.g., Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP)], and integrative models linking biological, psychometric, social data, and subjective experience. Special attention is given to a "subjectomic" layer that aims to systematically incorporate lived experience. Finally, reforms in education, clinical practice, and research are advocated to foster this conceptual reorientation, aiming at interdisciplinary collaboration and advancing patient care.

  PublisherDOI

• Personalized fMRI-Guided TMS Targeting the Threat Neurocircuitry in PTSD: A Randomized Clinical Trial

  American Journal of Psychiatry · 2026-04-02 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has shown promise in reducing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, with varied clinical results. A mechanistic understanding is needed to personalize treatment and improve response rates. The threat neurocircuitry, specifically the right amygdala, has consistently been implicated in PTSD pathophysiology. This neuroscience-informed trial aimed to modulate the threat neurocircuitry using functional MRI (fMRI)-guided TMS to treat PTSD. METHODS: In a double-blind clinical trial, 50 adults with PTSD symptoms were randomized to 10 twice-daily sessions of either 1-Hz TMS or sham TMS. TMS was delivered to an fMRI-guided target within the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with the strongest functional connection to the right amygdala. The primary outcomes were right amygdala threat reactivity, assessed by fMRI, and skin conductance reactivity during trauma recall, measured pre- and post-TMS. The secondary outcomes were hyperarousal and total PTSD symptoms (based on the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5), measured pre- and post-TMS and at a follow-up assessment between 3 and 6 months after TMS. RESULTS: Active TMS significantly reduced right amygdala threat reactivity compared with sham TMS. No significant effect of TMS was observed on skin conductance reactivity. From pre- to post-TMS, significant reductions in hyperarousal and total PTSD symptoms were observed across groups, but no significant differences between groups were observed. From pre-TMS to follow-up, active TMS compared with sham TMS significantly reduced hyperarousal and total PTSD symptoms. Clinical findings were found to be robust in sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first clinical trial to demonstrate that personalized fMRI-guided TMS targeting the threat neurocircuitry reduces amygdala threat reactivity and improves long-term PTSD symptoms at follow-up. These findings suggest the potential for a personalized approach to neuromodulation in individuals with PTSD.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Author Correction: Effects of electroconvulsive therapy on hippocampal longitudinal axis and its association with cognitive side effects

  Communications Medicine · 2026-01-23

  articleOpen access

  Correction to: Communications Medicinehttps://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-01120-1, published online 01 October 2025 In the version of the article initially published, the first name of Maximilian Kiebs was misspelled (Maximillian), and is now amended in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Structural connectivity correlates of response to electroconvulsive therapy in treatment-resistant depression

  Psychiatry Research Neuroimaging · 2026-01-10

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Home-based non-invasive brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression

  European Psychiatry · 2025-04-01

  articleOpen access

  Introduction Depression is a prevalent disease and 30% of affected patients are resistant to pharmacological treatment. Home-Based transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (HB-tDCS) has been proposed as a treatment option due to its low cost, minimal invasiveness, and scalability. Objectives We present preliminary results on safety, feasibility and efficacy of a remotely supervised HB-tDCS intervention in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Methods 7 patients (5 women, age =55.67 ± 6.93) underwent a psychiatric evaluation, pre and post stimulation, that included the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS). HB-tDCS intervention consisted of 42 daily sessions administered through the Sooma tDCS™ device by a patients’ companion, trained by the research team. The anode was placed on the left prefrontal cortex, the cathode on the right prefrontal cortex, and 2mA current was delivered for 30 minutes. After each session participants fulfilled an on-line survey for monitoring safety and feasibility. Results 86.73% of the sessions were completed. Due to impedance 7.84% of the sessions could not start on the first attempt, while 7.45% of the session were temporarily interrupted. Adverse effects included headaches (9.67%), sensations under electrodes (24.89%), and scalp dryness (7.88%). We observed a significant reduction in depressive symptomatology as measured by the MADRS (-33.56%; t=-7.99, p<0.001). All patients showed partial response (>25%), and two a relevant response (>50%). Self-reported scales indicated a reduction in symptomatology (QIDS:-21.66; t=-3.139, p=0.010; BDI:-13.92%; t=-1.780, p=0.063). Conclusions In line with previous studies, these results indicate that HB-tDCS is a feasible, safe, and potentially effective intervention for treatment of resistant depression. Disclosure of Interest None Declared

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 68. Unsupervised Machine Learning Reveals EEG-Based Biotypes for Predicting Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Outcomes in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

  Biological Psychiatry · 2025-04-09

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• 152. Multisite External Validation of a Machine Learning Model to Predict Individual Treatment Selection Between Electroconvulsive Therapy and Ketamine

  Biological Psychiatry · 2025-04-09

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Effects of electroconvulsive therapy on hippocampal longitudinal axis and its association with cognitive side effects

  Communications Medicine · 2025-10-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Background Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)-mediated hippocampal volumetric increase is consistently reported, though its clinical relevance remains debated. This study evaluates if ECT-related cognitive side effects are associated with regional volumetric changes along the hippocampal longitudinal axis. Methods Longitudinal T1-weighted MRI scans in 435 patients (54.0 ± 15.0 years, 261 female) with major depression from the Global ECT-MRI Research Collaboration (GEMRIC) were used to measure changes in right global and longitudinal axis hippocampal subdivisions (head, body, tail) from baseline to post-treatment. Cognitive side effects were evaluated using pre-to-post treatment changes in two different verbal fluency tests available for 124 patients. Electric field modelling was applied to explore whether the regional hippocampal electric field strength related to individual changes in cognitive performance. Results Global hippocampal enlargement is observed pre-to-post ECT ( p FDR < 0.001), but enlargement of the hippocampal head significantly exceeds the volumetric change in the hippocampal body and tail ( p FDR < 0.001). Volumetric expansion of the hippocampal body and tail significantly associates with reduced verbal fluency scores ( p FDR < 0.05). Moreover, volumetric reduction of the hippocampal tail at 6 months post-ECT associates with improved cognitive performance ( p FDR < 0.05, N = 24). Finally, patients performing worse on verbal fluency tests following treatment have greater electric field during ECT in the right hippocampal body ( p uncorrected < 0.05). Conclusions The findings support that cognitive performance following ECT relates to macrostructural changes in the posterior cognitive hippocampus. Thus, there may be a threshold of ECT induced posterior hippocampal volumetric change, beyond which cognitive side effects occur.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 236. Identification of Longitudinal Associations Between Depressive Symptoms and EEG Functional Connectivity in Adolescents Receiving Antidepressant Treatment

  Biological Psychiatry · 2025-04-09

  article
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Personalized target selection for TMS therapy using functional vs. structural connectivity MRI

  NIH · $443k · 2017–2019

• Modulating Inhibitory Control Networks In Gambling Disorder With Theta Burst Stimulation

  NIH · $439k · 2017–2021

• A Transdiagnostic Assessment of Electroconvulsive Therapy Modulation of Anhedonia and Reward circuitry: Targets, Biomarkers and Predictors of Response

  NIH · $3.8M · 2017–2024

• Combined Cortical and Subcortical Recording and Stimulation as a Circuit-Oriented Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

  NIH · $2.6M · 2016–2025

• Neuromodulation of memory and language networks in Alzheimer's disease

  NIH · $467k · 2017–2020

Frequent coauthors

• Carles Soriano‐Mas

  Institut d'Investigació Biomédica de Bellvitge

  84 shared

• Marta Cano

  Universidad de Oviedo

  80 shared

• Tracy Barbour

  Massachusetts General Hospital

  73 shared

• Kristen K. Ellard

  Harvard University

  65 shared

• Narcı́s Cardoner

  Institut de Recerca Sant Pau

  58 shared

• Darin D. Dougherty

  56 shared

• Álvaro Pascual‐Leone

  Hebrew SeniorLife

  42 shared

• Laura Dubreuil-Vall

  Massachusetts General Hospital

  39 shared