The initiative featured a series of events designed to advance understanding of obsessive-compulsive disorder and its treatments among the public, clinicians, and researchers.
OCD at Queen Square
The flagship event, "OCD at Queen Square," took place on 15 October 2025, chaired by Professor Subodh Dave, Dean of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych). The sold-out event, open to both professionals and the public, addressed the critical need for improved awareness of OCD and its neuroscience.
- Dr. Himanshu Tyagi, a clinical academic specialist in the field based at Queen Square, highlighted that existing gaps in awareness mean two out of three patients with OCD remain undiagnosed. He traced Queen Square's historical contributions to the field of OCD, from the early work of Hughlings Jackson in the 1890s to pivotal discoveries in brain circuits a century later, paving the way to a better neuroscientific understanding of this highly disabling condition and advancing its treatments, including precise neuromodulation.
- Professor Ludvic Zrinzo delivered an engaging presentation on circuit-based treatments for OCD, including targeted deep brain stimulation, focused ultrasound techniques, and ablative neuromodulation such as cingulotomy and capsulotomy, which is now known to benefit up to two-thirds of patients with resistant OCD.
- Dr Nick Sireau, founder and former chair of Orchard OCD charity, shared his personal experience with OCD and discussed the obstacles and opportunities he has encountered while facilitating neuroscience-based research in the field. His talk was followed by a patient's account of her journey with OCD and subsequent treatment with deep brain stimulation delivered at Queen Square. An interactive Q&A session, led by Professor Dave from the RCPsych, concluded the event.
Symposium on Brain Circuits of Suffering and Control
On 20 October 2025, the Institute hosted a major follow-up event; a Symposium on Brain Circuits of Suffering and Control, as part of the Future of Neurosurgery Series. The session brought together global leaders in functional neurosurgery and systems neuroscience to explore how advances in circuit mapping and neuromodulation are transforming the understanding and treatment of psychiatric and pain disorders.
- Professor Rees Cosgrove (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School) opened the symposium with an overview of modern lesional surgery for refractory obsessive–compulsive disorder, drawing on more than three decades of clinical experience to illustrate how refined targeting of the cingulate and limbic circuits can yield durable benefit in otherwise treatment-resistant patients.
- Professor Timothy Behrens (University of Oxford, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging) then discussed the role of the cingulate and medial prefrontal circuits in intention, motivation, and behavioural control, highlighting how computational models are revealing pathways involved in motivation and drive.
- In the final keynote, Professor Sameer Sheth (Baylor College of Medicine, Texas) presented his team’s pioneering work on mapping the circuits of suffering using intracranial recordings and connectomics, bridging basic neuroscience with emerging clinical applications of adaptive deep brain stimulation (DBS).
- The session culminated in a panel discussion chaired by Mr Harith Akram (Consultant Neurosurgeon and Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology), who led an interactive exchange on the future of circuit-based therapies for psychiatric and chronic pain conditions. The discussion underscored the growing integration of neuroscience, neurosurgery, and computational modelling in redefining how disorders of suffering and control are understood and treated.
- The evening concluded with a lively networking reception, reflecting the strong interest among clinicians, researchers, and trainees in the rapidly expanding field of psychiatric neurosurgery and brain circuit therapeutics.
Together, these events — OCD at Queen Square and Brain Circuits of Suffering and Control — mark a significant milestone for the Institute in advancing public and academic engagement around the neuroscience of OCD, and in strengthening international collaboration toward next-generation treatments for severe, treatment-resistant neuropsychiatric disorders.
Together, these talks marked a significant milestone in raising awareness and fostering collaboration in OCD research and treatment through a neuroscience-based approach.