Using a neural stimulation pattern termed “Repetitive Optogenetic Stimulation (REPOPS),” the researchers found that granule cells of the hippocampal dentate gyrus undergo long-lasting changes in nuclear structure and gene expression, revealing a novel process which the team terms “nuclear reprogramming.”

Nearly 90 years after Ugo Cerletti and Lucio Bini introduced electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), brain stimulation therapies such as ECT and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are common in psychiatry because they are highly effective in treating depression and schizophrenia, yet their cellular mechanisms remain poorly understood.

The team introduced REPOPS, a form of patterned stimulation in mice designed to mimic key features of ECT-like neuronal activation. The work has been published in Nature Communications.