Brain Stimulation Intensive Course
Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, SC
When: March 26 - March 30, 2012
http://academicdepartments.musc.edu/psychiatry/research/bsl/news.htm

Please contact
Minnie Dobbins at 843-792-5730 or by email at [log in to unmask] or
Teresa Garner at 843 -876 -5142 or by email at [log in to unmask] for more information.


Course Director:
Mark S. George, MD, MUSC Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, Radiology and Neuroscience

Where: MUSC Institute of Psychiatry, 5th floor Brain Stimulation Laboratory
Target Audience: This activity is designed for clinicians and researchers who wish to enhance their knowledge of TMS and the related brain stimulation techniques.

Course Description: This week-long training program offers a nice combination of pre-course readings and notes, in person lectures with web-based streaming, followed by observations of clinical and research uses. Most importantly, the course offers ample time for hands on technique learning and practice.
Two tracks are offered, one leading to a training certificate in Advanced ECT. The other would result in a training certificate in TMS. For those interested additional didactics can be arranged regarding VNS, DBS or tDCS. The curriculum can also be modified and adapted for those interested in either clinical or research use.

Learning Objectives: At the co nclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:
-Review past and current brain stimulation research in order to provide optimal care.
-Describe the full range of current methods of brain stimulation, and know how they differ in their approach to stimulating the brain.
-Apply clinical uses and guidelines as demonstrated in TMS and ECT evidenced based literature.
-Demonstrate skill in the practice of device set-up and motor threshold determination.
-Identify and implement current safety guidelines

Accreditation:
The Medical University of South Carolina is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation:
The Medical University of South Carolina designates this live activity for a maximum of 14.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Cost: The course is open to physicians, nurses, researchers and other professionals and trainees, from the U.S. and abroad. This program is sponsored by MUSC. The course registration fee is $2,000. Fee may be waived for full-time MUSC faculty and trainees, please inquire when registering. Full-time VA employees participating in CSP #556 have a different negotiated fee. Payment is due by one month before the course start date. A written notice of cancellation must be received 30 days prior to the start of this activity. A 10% cancellation fee will be assessed at that time; after that date, cancellation requests cannot be honored.


About the Brain Stimulation Laboratory (BSL) and Faculty:
The BSL was started 17 years ago and is a national and international leader in developing and testing new brain stimulation methods as potential treatments. Dr. George, the course director, published the first study of daily prefrontal TMS as an antidepressant in 1993 and has been actively involved with the technology ever since. The BSL was the organizing site for the NIMH sponsored OPT-TMS study. The clinical and research environment is rich and fertile. Currently the BSL averages 10 ECT treatments each day, and around 20 TMS sessions, either clinical or research. The MUSC BSL was the first to demonstrate that one can safely perform TMS within an MRI scanner and there are active studies with this technology. The BSL currently has over 12 different TMS stimulators, representing most of the current manufacturers on the planet. TMS is used actively as a research tool in knock-out cognitive studies, or in excitability. MUSC has one of the few fully automated paired-pulse systems as well as the only bihemispheric paired pulse system in the US.

Participating Faculty:
Mark S. George, MD, Jeff Borckardt, PhD, Baron Short, MD, Chris Pelic, MD, Colleen Hanlon, PhD, Xingbao Li, MD