Bone-Lead Level Associations With Brain and Mental Health

The goal of this study is to assess cumulative lead exposure among treatment-seeking patients in the MUSC hospital system receiving experimental transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS), an electroencephalogram (EEG), and/or transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) therapies to determine whether lead exposure represents a risk factor for more severe mental illness or a modifier of treatment response. Information will be obtained from patients with a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders recruited to existing hospital studies. This information will include the results of bone-lead testing, brief cognitive tests, and self-reported psychiatric symptoms and behaviors.