Synergizing Neuroplastic Interventions for Youth (SYNERGY)
Research Updates
Can brain stimulation treatment be compressed from weeks to days?
Taylor JJ, Stagg CJ, Bègue I, Bikson M, Brunoni AR, Caulfield KA, Ng E, et al. Brain Stimulation, 2026. DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2026.103120
As part of an international expert workshop in Switzerland, Dr. Ng joined leading researchers from around the world to review the evidence on "accelerated" brain stimulation protocols — delivering multiple sessions per day to shorten treatment from weeks to days — and to chart a path for future research.
When should young people with depression try TMS?
Ng E. JAACAP Open, 2025.
In this commentary, Dr. Ng argued that new evidence from a large real-world study of over 1,200 young people supports considering TMS earlier in the treatment of youth depression — potentially after just one or two medication trials — and called for improved access to TMS for young people regardless of where they live or their financial means.
Our team shows that outpatient youth treated at Sunnybrook (under 25) show similar improvements in symptoms of depression to adults when treated with either intermittent theta burst stimulation rTMS or high-frequency deep TMS. (Ng et al., 2025 →)
Our team identifies preliminary data that intermittent theta burst stimulation rTMS improves irritability and this correlates with treatment response. (Ng et al., 2025 →)
View all publications on Google Scholar →
Mission, Vision, Values
Mission — We innovate precision circuit-based treatments for youth with complex mood and anxiety disorders.
Vision — We will be a national and international hub for developing and implementing interventional psychiatry techniques to promote health and resilience in youth.
Values — Compassion · Integrity · Collaboration · Excellence
Research Aims
Our work is organized around three aims:
Personalize — Understanding how best to personalize the neuromodulation experience for youth. We are working on discovering biomarkers and also surveying youth, families, and clinicians to identify the most important unanswered questions in the field.
Synergize — Exploring how combining treatments can produce better outcomes than either alone. Current work includes pairing TMS with virtual reality reward training to address the loss of pleasure that often underlies youth depression.
Build — Piloting new models of care that make treatment more accessible. We are studying whether TMS can be integrated into inpatient care — delivering multiple sessions per day to fit within an admission — and into day treatment programs, where combining TMS with psychotherapy may amplify benefits for both.
Active Studies
Can we detect changes in emotional processing after one session of rTMS in youth with depression?
We are testing whether early neurophysiological signals can serve as a biomarker to predict treatment response — and ultimately guide how we personalize TMS for each patient.
Funding: Norris Scholar Award
Can we enhance the effects of rTMS for loss of pleasure by controlling for mental state at the time of stimulation?
We are pairing rTMS with a virtual reality program that trains patients to savour rewarding experiences, testing whether this combination produces better outcomes for the anhedonia that underlies many cases of youth depression.
Funding: Labatt Family Network for Research on the Biology of Depression
Is an inpatient youth rTMS treatment pathway feasible?
The standard TMS protocol — once daily, five days a week, six weeks — can be logistically challenging for youths and families. We are testing whether an accelerated protocol (multiple sessions per day) is feasible, accessible, and acceptable to youth and their families as part of an inpatient stay.
Funding: Sunnybrook AFP Innovation Fund
TMS day treatment program for youth with depression
For youth already attending a day treatment program, daily TMS is logistically feasible and may work synergistically with the psychotherapy they are receiving. We are assessing the feasibility of this integrated model and its impact on depression and anxiety.
Funding: Reasons for Hope Fund, University of Toronto
Research Team
Members
- Principal Investigator: Enoch Ng
- Research Coordinator: Alexandra Anacleto
- Trainees & Volunteers:
- 2025 - present: Caleb Bwamiki, Armina Choudery, Armaan Fallahi
- 2026 - present: Anthony Chen
Collaborators
- Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation: Peter Giacobbe, Sean Nestor, Adriano Mollica, Nir Lipsman, Clement Hamani
- Sunnybrook Department of Psychiatry: Karen Wang, Rosalie Steinberg, Mark Sinyor, Rachel Mitchell, Matt Burke
- Sunnybrook Research Institute: Fa-Hsuan Lin, Simon Graham, Fahad Alam
- University of Toronto: Elia Abi-Jaoude, Andy Lee
- International: Liliana Capitao, Michelle Craske, Mark S. George, Eric Storch
Want to join our team?
contact Dr. Ng’s administrative assistant