Bio

My research has focused on differences in brain activity, structure and functional connectivity in various conditions; sensory deficits, neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions. I have experience with a range of neuroscience techniques including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), electroencephalography (EEG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electromyography (EMG). My PhD research focused on neural differences in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). I completed my PhD within three years; completing four research projects across three different labs, including working with a world leader in ASD research, Prof. Peter Enticott, in Melbourne, Australia. Alongside my PhD, I worked in an outpatient clinic alongside clinical psychiatrists and coordinated a multi-award winning mental health campaign. My interest in psychiatric research led me to take a postdoctoral position in the Psychiatry Department at Stanford, developing an accelerated brain stimulation therapy for adults with treatment-resistant depression and suicidal ideation. This position also involves utilizing the latest neural targeting methods for rTMS using functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI), examining neural connectivity changes associated with antidepressant responses and identifying potential biomarkers of antidepressant response. I am fully committed to a career in research, particularly research aimed at identifying the neural basis of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders in order to both develop new treatments and improve existing treatments for mental illnesses.

Honors & Awards

  • Overseas Fieldwork Grant-£7,000, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (02/13/2015)
  • Grindley Grant-£500, Experimental Psychology Society (12/12/2016)
  • Magstim Travel Award-£1000, Magstim Company Limited (02/06/2017)
  • Research Training Support Grant- £4,200, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) (02/17/2017)
  • Guarantors of BRAIN Travel Award-£1000, Guarantors of BRAIN (03/28/2017)

Professional Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University Of York (2017)
  • Master of Science, University Of York (2015)
  • Bachelor of Science, University of Manchester (2012)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    ecole@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

  • Mail Code: 5717

Links

All Publications

  • Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression. The American journal of psychiatry Cole, E. J., Stimpson, K. H., Bentzley, B. S., Gulser, M., Cherian, K., Tischler, C., Nejad, R., Pankow, H., Choi, E., Aaron, H., Espil, F. M., Pannu, J., Xiao, X., Duvio, D., Solvason, H. B., Hawkins, J., Guerra, A., Jo, B., Raj, K. S., Phillips, A. L., Barmak, F., Bishop, J. H., Coetzee, J. P., DeBattista, C., Keller, J., Schatzberg, A. F., Sudheimer, K. D., Williams, N. R. 2020: appiajp201919070720

    Abstract

    New antidepressant treatments are needed that are effective, rapid acting, safe, and tolerable. Intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation treatment that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment-resistant depression. Recent methodological advances suggest that the current iTBS protocol might be improved through 1) treating patients with multiple sessions per day at optimally spaced intervals, 2) applying a higher overall pulse dose of stimulation, and 3) precision targeting of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) to subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) circuit. The authors examined the feasibility, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT), an accelerated, high-dose resting-state functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI)-guided iTBS protocol for treatment-resistant depression.Twenty-two participants with treatment-resistant depression received open-label SAINT. fcMRI was used to individually target the region of the left DLPFC most anticorrelated with sgACC in each participant. Fifty iTBS sessions (1,800 pulses per session, 50-minute intersession interval) were delivered as 10 daily sessions over 5 consecutive days at 90% resting motor threshold (adjusted for cortical depth). Neuropsychological testing was conducted before and after SAINT.One participant withdrew, leaving a sample size of 21. Nineteen of 21 participants (90.5%) met remission criteria (defined as a score <11 on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale). In the intent-to-treat analysis, 19 of 22 participants (86.4%) met remission criteria. Neuropsychological testing demonstrated no negative cognitive side effects.SAINT, an accelerated, high-dose, iTBS protocol with fcMRI-guided targeting, was well tolerated and safe. Double-blinded sham-controlled trials are needed to confirm the remission rate observed in this initial study.

    View details for DOI 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19070720

    View details for PubMedID 32252538

  • The Potential of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Consensus Statement BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY Cole, E. J., Enticott, P. G., Oberman, L. M., Gwynette, M., Casanova, M. F., Jackson, S. J., Jannati, A., McPartland, J. C., Naples, A. J., Puts, N. J., rTMS ASD Consensus Grp 2019; 85 (4): E21–E22

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.06.003

    View details for Web of Science ID 000456013700003

  • Accelerated intermittent theta-burst stimulation for treatment-resistant depression in patients with alcohol-use disorder Cole, E. J., Deng, H., Tate, W., Tischler, C., Stimpson, K., Bentzley, B., Schatzberg, A., Sanborn, K., Williams, N. 2019

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brs.2018.12.656

  • Case study: Cognitive and mood improvement in a patient with Parkinson’s disease and treatment-resistant depression following accelerated intermittent theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Cherian, K., Stimpson, K., Gulser, M., Cole, E., Sudheimer, K., Keller, J., Williams, N. 2019

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brs.2018.12.800

  • Duration of response is associated with treatment resistance in accelerated iTBS protocol for treatment-resistant depression.  Gulser, M., Cole, E., Stimpson, K., Sudheimer, K., Williams, N. 2019

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brs.2018.12.789

  • Reduced connectivity between mentalizing and mirror systems in autism spectrum condition NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA Cole, E. J., Barraclough, N. E., Andrews, T. J. 2019; 122: 88–97

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.11.008

    View details for Web of Science ID 000460855800009

  • Structural correlates of accelerated intermittent theta-burst stimulation for treatment-refractory depression. DeSouza, D., Gulser , M., Cole, E., Stimpson, K., Xiao, X., Tischler, C., Bishop, J., Tate, W., Sudheimer, K.,  Williams, N. 2019

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brs.2018.12.743

  • Depressive symptoms improved by accelerated intermittent theta-burst stimulation Deng, H., Cole, E., Gulser, M., Stimpson, K., Tischler, C., Sudheimer, K., Williams, N. 2019
  • Preliminary analysis of accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation for treatment-resistant depression in an inpatient setting Tate, W., Cole, E., Tischler, C., Stimpson, K., Bentzley, B., Schatzberg, A., Sanborn, K., Williams, N. 2019
  • Accelerated intermittent theta-burst stimulation suppresses suicidal ideation in patients with treatment-resistant depression. Bentzley, B., Cole, E., Gulser, M., Stimpson, K., Hawkins, J., Xiao, X., Schatzberg, A., Sudheimer, K., Williams, N. 2019
  • Accelerated theta burst stimulation for Bipolar I and II: Assessing clinical changes pre- and post-treatme Tischler, C., Gulser, M., Stimpson, K., Cole, E., Williams, N. 2019

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brs.2018.12.64

  • Stanford accelerated intelligent neuromodulation therapy for treatment-resistant depression (SAINT-TRD). Cole, E. J., Gulser, M., Stimpson, K., Bentzley, B., Hawkins, J., Xiao, , X., Schatzberg, A., Sudheimer, K., Williams, N., et al 2019

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brs.2018.12.299

  • Timing of mirror system activation when inferring the intentions of others BRAIN RESEARCH Cole, E. J., Barraclough, N. E. 2018; 1700: 109–17

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brainres.2018.07.015

    View details for Web of Science ID 000451353600012

  • Investigating Mirror System (MS) Activity in Adults with ASD When Inferring Others' Intentions Using Both TMS and EEG JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS Cole, E. J., Barraclough, N. E., Enticott, P. G. 2018; 48 (7): 2350–67

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s10803-018-3492-2

    View details for Web of Science ID 000434993000008

  • Abilities to Explicitly and Implicitly Infer Intentions from Actions in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Cole, E. J., Barraclough, N. E., Enticott, P. G. 2017

    Abstract

    Previous research suggests that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) might be associated with impairments on implicit but not explicit mentalizing tasks. However, such comparisons are made difficult by the heterogeneity of stimuli and the techniques used to measure mentalizing capabilities. We tested the abilities of 34 individuals (17 with ASD) to derive intentions from others' actions during both explicit and implicit tasks and tracked their eye-movements. Adults with ASD displayed explicit but not implicit mentalizing deficits. Adults with ASD displayed typical fixation patterns during both implicit and explicit tasks. These results illustrate an explicit mentalizing deficit in adults with ASD, which cannot be attributed to differences in fixation patterns.

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s10803-017-3425-5

  • A simultaneous EEG and TMS study investigating mirror neuron system activity when inferring intentions Cole, E. J., et al 2017

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brs.2017.01.234