Dr. Corey Keller: Brain Stimulation, TMS, and Brain Based Treatment

Dr. Corey Keller, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and clinician at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, joins the ALWELLCO Podcast for a deep, thoughtful conversation on the future of brain based mental health care.

As the leader of the Stanford Precision Neurotherapeutics Lab, Dr. Keller’s work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, engineering, and psychiatry, with a focus on understanding how brain stimulation technologies actually alter neural circuits and how those treatments can be made more precise, personalized, and effective. His research combines invasive and noninvasive human electrophysiology to uncover the mechanisms behind neuromodulation and improve outcomes for individuals with treatment resistant depression and other neurological and psychiatric conditions.

In this episode, we explore what brain stimulation truly is and how it differs from medications and historical portrayals of psychiatry, where TMS fits into modern mental health care, and why access, personalization, and measurement remain some of the field’s biggest challenges. Dr. Keller shares insights on biomarkers, brain mapping, state dependent stimulation, and closed loop systems, and how these advances may shape the next 5 to 10 years of treatment.

The conversation also touches on how brain stimulation can integrate with medication, psychotherapy, and lifestyle interventions rather than replace them, and what individuals should consider when exploring neuromodulation as a treatment option.

This episode offers a grounded, science driven look at where mental health treatment is today and where it may be headed next.