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NYC Neuromodulation 2017

During January 13-15th 2017, New York was home to the third NYC Neuromodulation conference focused on technology and mechanisms for brain stimulation in areas that include transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), deep brain stimulation (DBS), and other emerging areas. The conference took place at the Great Hall of the Shepard Hall building at the gorgeous campus of the City University of New York.

Shepard building
Great Hall
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Shepard building

This year, the conference included practical sessions, poster sessions, panels for discussion and research talks. With this structure, the organizers managed to create an interactive environment with strong interdisciplinary discussions among attendees and speakers. Just to name a few of them, Miguel Alonso from Harvard University talked about prospective of tDCS for obesity; Mar Cortes, from Burke Hospital, presented new applications of tDCS for rehabilitation of spinal cord injured patients; Vince Clark, from University of New Mexico, talked about fMRI Guided tDCS; Michael Nitsche, from University of Göttingen, discussed the variability of tDCS effects; Anli Liu, from New York University, and Alexander Opitz, from Nathan Kline Institute, talked about tDCS model validation in human and non-human primates; and David Putrino, from Burke Hospital, presented the results of a tDCS/EEG study in which Neuroelectrics also contributed[1]. While there is not enough space in this blog to mention every relevant contribution to the conference, we would like to refer you to the program of the conference, where you will be able to find the complete list of speakers.

Given the increased media, public, and commercial interest in personal non-invasive brain stimulation, the conference also included different panels to discus emerging “consumer” technologies and their scientific and regulatory frameworks. The off-label use of new clinical protocols was also discussed from the scientific, medical and regulatory perspectives. The conference also focused on timely and novel targets of neuromodulation including glia, as well as new waveforms including high-rate (10 kHz) stimulation.

This year, Neuroelectrics’ research team contributed in the poster session with three posters (you can find the full abstracts and proceedings at the conference website):

  • Poster 1: Marta Castellano, David Ibanez-Soria, Javier Acedo, Eleni Kroupi, Xenia Martinez, Aureli Soria-Frisch, Josep Valls-Sole, Ajay Verma, Giulio Ruffini. “tACS bursts slows your perception: increased RT in a speed of change detection task”.
  • Poster 2: Ricardo Salvador, Jaume Banus, Oscar Ripolles, D. B. Fischer, Micahel D. Fox, Giulio Ruffini. “Intersubject variability effects on montages used to target the motor cortex in tDCS”.
  • Poster 3: Laura Dubreuil-Vall, Peggy Chau, Alik Widge, Giulio Ruffini, Joan Camprodon. “Electrophysiological mechanisms of tDCS modulation of executive functions”.
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Neuroelectrics team also showcased our latest products, Starstim 32 channels and NIC 2.0, in our new booth with renovated colors and corporate image:

Neuroelectrics' booth
Neuroelectrics’ booth

Last but not least, we also enjoyed New York’s stunning sunrises and experienced the city’s nightlife at the social activities organized as part of the conference. Neuroelectrics’ team was invited to attend the speaker dinner at the Red Rooster restaurant, which holds one of New York’s best kept secrets: the Ginny’s Supper Club downstairs, in which we enjoyed chef Marcus Samuelsson’s cuisine and jazz live music in a space that transported us back in time.

Sunrise
New York sunrise at Central Park
RedRoosters
Live jazz music at Red Roosters

[1] David Putrino, Alejandra Climent, Laura Dubreuil Vall, Giulio Ruffini, Douglas Labar, Dylan Edwards, Mar Cortes. “Motor evoked potential changes in response to transcranial direct current stimulation correlate with quantitative EEG changes in subjects with chronic spinal cord injury”.

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