A group of 41 scientists from 20 countries, including the Portuguese researcher Jorge Almeida from the Proaction Lab of the University of Coimbra (UC), has developed a guide to enable the rapid and safe resumption of research and clinical activities related to neuroscience and the use of neural stimulation techniques, which are currently very limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This guide, published in Brain Stimulation, one of the most prestigious scientific journals in the field of neuroscience, is essentially aimed at helping the scientific and medical community to adapt in order to gradually resume the studies and treatments that have suddenly become impossible.
The main objective is to respond to the sudden restrictions caused by the pandemic, which have led to interruptions and delays in scientific activity, "particularly in neuroscience studies, with interruptions in recruitment and testing of participants, and with interruptions in clinical trials and treatments. These studies use specific procedures, such as the use of non-invasive neural stimulation, a set of safe stimulation techniques used to modulate brain activity," explains Jorge Almeida.
According to Jorge Almeida, neural stimulation techniques "have been used in both basic and applied research in neuroscience, as well as in therapies for the treatment of psychiatric and neurological diseases, so their preservation is of great importance".
Based on a survey of 29 institutions in 17 countries that use non-invasive neural stimulation techniques, this guide discusses the practices that need to be implemented in the current situation in order to maintain these activities, but also indicates how to proceed in the event of possible future epidemics or pandemics.
The proposed guidelines - based on three phases: initial impact of COVID-19, current practices and future response - include a list of 12 steps that suggest "reducing unnecessary contact by eliminating or simplifying protocols and incorporating telemedicine. We also recommend social distancing, extra care in the sterilisation of the equipment used, and we also list more specific considerations for the populations involved in these experiences and therapies," summarises the professor from the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the UC.
According to the authors of the published scientific paper, one of the growing concerns of the scientific community is "the possible increase in mental illnesses due to the unforeseen effects of the pandemic, as well as the prioritisation of the treatment of the virus to the detriment of other illnesses due to the sudden need to reorganise hospitals and clinics. It is known that there are patients from neurological and psychiatric departments whose treatment may have been reduced and/or postponed". The implementation of the guidelines proposed by this group of scientists is therefore all the more important to deal with these new situations.
"Stimulation techniques are not only important for the development of knowledge on different types of neuropsychiatric diseases, but also for basic research on the brain and the mind", says Jorge Almeida, who concludes, "by maintaining the functioning of research laboratories, research and clinical infrastructures that use these techniques, we hope to alleviate, in the short and long term, the psychological effects caused by the pandemic". The scientific paper is available here.
Translation by Diana Taborda