What it is

Actionable genetic breakthroughs are transforming therapeutic potential across a variety of diseases from Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s to Autism by narrowing discovery around specific gene mutations or genetic markers that lead to a particular disease. Recent breakthroughs in the areas of Tourette’s syndrome and Autism, both neuropsychiatric diseases that present overlapping symptoms with OCD, 
offer a proven path of inquiry, trusted scientific methods and data, and a beginning hypothesis to accelerate the discovery of genetic mutations and markers that contain the ‘source code’ for developing OCD.

Why it Matters

Discovering the underlying genetic cause that increases the probability of developing OCD will help us achieve two objectives:

Better Animal Models

It will help us develop more powerful animal models that simulate OCD behaviors and allow us to test and verify specific circuit activity.

Targeted Therapies

It will help us refine anatomical targets for administering Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), achieving greater efficacy.

What it is

The cortical-striatal-thalamic loop is a system of neural circuits in the brain. It affects cognition, behavior, and emotion, and has been broadly implicated as the source of dysfunction in the brains of people who suffer from OCD. The complexity surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of OCD cannot be overstated. It is our belief that a one-to-one map between the anatomy of the brain and specific OCD obsessions and behaviors does not exist. Rather, we believe one important component of 
OCD is a broken inhibition system — 
the mechanism that starts, sustains, and stops behavior — that is triggered 
by an obsessive thought.

Why it Matters

By focusing our inquiry in part on the start-sustain-stop mechanism, rather than specific obsessions and compulsions, we have the potential to solve multiple obsessions + compulsions in a single shot.

Improved lab Simulations

Building on information gathered from fMRI scans in human studies, we’re applying state-of-the-art tools such as optogenetics in animal models to selectively manipulate brain circuits and determine the ones causing, for example, excessive initiation of compulsive behaviors or negative reinforcement.

Better treatment targets

If we can localize the circuits mediating the core processes underlying obsessions and compulsions, we can dramatically improve our targets for treatment.

What it is

Behavioral therapies and medications treat some OCD symptoms but they work indirectly, limiting their effectiveness. Neuromodulation approaches, in contrast, can directly and rapidly modulate pathological brain activity.

rTMS for Depression


Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is an improved version of an FDA-approved treatment 
for depression.

DBS for seizures and Tremor


For decades, FDA-approved Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has brought relief to epilepsy and Parkinson’s patients.

Why it Matters

The most direct way to ameliorate the pathological circuit activity underlying OCD symptoms is to identify it in human subjects and directly modify it using neuromodulation treatment modalities.

rTMS + FMRI + EEG

If we can identify an individual’s pathological circuit activity non-invasively, we can target rTMS more precisely and scale up this treatment modality to make it accessible to qualified treatment centers, globally.

DBS data + insights

DBS surgery for treatment-resistant individuals allows direct recordings of pathological circuit activity, providing invaluable insights on novel therapeutic targets and the most precise forms of  individualized treatment.