Next Health

The Cognitive Optimization Program

Your Brain Is the Most Important Organ You've Never Measured.

A structured three-technology program at Next Health: Cognitive Testing and QEEG to measure your brain's current state, plus FDA-cleared Exomind TMS therapy for cognitive function. Built for patients serious about brain health optimization.

Explore the Program ↓
The Cognitive Optimization Program at Next Health

TESTING · QEEG · EXOMIND — DELIVERED AT SELECT NEXT HEALTH LOCATIONS UNDER PHYSICIAN SUPERVISION

Three technologies. One coordinated program.

Cognitive testing with our practitioners + QEEG mapping for evaluation

Exomind TMS therapy for depression-mediated cognitive concerns

Delivered at select Next Health locations under physician supervision

Why Measure the Brain

"The Brain is the Largest Opportunity in Longevity Medicine."

Anatomical brain sketch on aged parchment

For most of longevity medicine's history, we have measured everything except the organ that defines who you are. We measure blood. We measure heart rate. We measure sleep, body composition, hormone levels, inflammatory markers, and metabolic function. We assess every dimension of physical health with increasing precision.

The brain has been the exception. Until recently, the technology required to measure brain function was confined to academic research settings and was inaccessible to clinical practice. That has changed.

The Cognitive Optimization Program combines three of the most promising technologies for brain function measurement and brain-related treatment that have become available outside of research medicine. cognitive testing and QEEG let us measure the current state of your brain — your neural patterns, your cognitive performance across multiple domains, and your brain health baseline. Exomind, an FDA-cleared TMS therapy, treats the condition we encounter most often when patients describe cognitive symptoms: depression that is interfering with focus, motivation, and mental clarity.

TMS is a technology that has been studied and applied across a range of areas, including depression, ADHD, OCD, PTSD, migraines, addiction, and neuroplasticity.

If you have been wondering whether your brain is performing the way you want it to, this is the program designed to answer that question — and to address what we find.

Dr. Darshan Shah, MD

Founder & Chief Medical Officer, Next Health

What's Included

Deep Testing, QEEG, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation...In One Coordinated Program.

The Cognitive Optimization Program at Next Health is built around three of the most rigorous, technology-enabled tools in brain health. Two are for evaluation. One is for treatment when depression is affecting your cognitive function.

Cognitive Testing — Gold-Standard Assessment

Administered by our Next Health practitioners

Our practitioners conduct well-established cognitive testing using gold-standard clinical instruments such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) alongside other validated screening tools. These are the same evidence-based assessments used in leading neurology and longevity clinics to evaluate cognitive performance across key domains — memory, attention, executive function, language, and visuospatial ability.

Testing is administered one-on-one by a trained Next Health practitioner, giving you a structured baseline of your cognitive function and a consistent way to track changes over time as you make lifestyle, hormone, sleep, or other interventions through your broader Next Health care.

Next Health practitioner administering a cognitive assessment

Cognitive testing with our practitioners provides information about brain function and is not a medical diagnostic test.

QEEG — Quantitative Brain Mapping

FDA-Cleared 10–20 Channel Dry EEG System

Quantitative EEG (QEEG) mapping uses an FDA-cleared dry EEG headset to record your brain's electrical activity across 10–20 channels in approximately 5 minutes. The result is a detailed map of how your brain is actually functioning in real time — not a snapshot of structure, but a picture of activity, rhythm, and connectivity across regions.

From that map, we can assess performance across the cognitive and regulatory domains that shape day-to-day life:

  • ◆Focus — sustained attention and stimulus control
  • ◆Emotion Regulation — balancing emotional responses
  • ◆Memory — encoding and retrieval
  • ◆Executive — mental clarity and decision-making
  • ◆Resting State — mental reflection, adaptability, and sleep
  • ◆Sensory Motor — body awareness and movement control
  • ◆Visual — pattern recognition and visual attention

Beyond these performance domains, QEEG also surfaces electrical patterns that research has associated with a range of conditions — including ADHD, depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, traumatic brain injury, sleep dysregulation, and more. Identifying these patterns gives your physician a far more objective starting point than symptoms and questionnaires alone.

QEEG and cognitive testing offer complementary information about your brain. QEEG measures electrical activity patterns in real time; cognitive testing measures hemodynamic patterns of brain activity. Together, they provide a more complete picture than either alone.

Next Health practitioner fitting a patient with a QEEG dry EEG headset

Exomind — FDA-Cleared TMS Therapy

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technology that has been studied and applied across a range of areas, including depression, ADHD, OCD, migraine, addiction, and neuroplasticity. Exomind is one FDA-cleared application of TMS, indicated for Major Depressive Disorder in adult patients who have not achieved satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication in their current depressive episode.

Why does an FDA-cleared depression treatment belong in a cognitive optimization program? Because depression is one of the most common — and most often unrecognized — contributors to cognitive symptoms. Patients describing brain fog, difficulty concentrating, poor memory, and motivation problems are often experiencing depression rather than a primary cognitive disorder. For these patients, treating the underlying depression addresses the cognitive symptoms at their source.

The Exomind treatment course at Next Health is administered by trained clinical staff under physician supervision. Sessions are comfortable, under 30 minutes, non-invasive, drug-free, and integrate easily into a normal day — patients walk in and walk out without significant disruption.

Exomind TMS therapy device with patient seated beside it

Exomind is FDA-cleared for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in adult patients who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication in the current episode. Exomind is not FDA-cleared for cognitive enhancement or for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or other cognitive conditions. Individual candidacy for Exomind is determined by your Next Health physician based on your medical evaluation.

Is This Program Right For You?

Four Patient Profiles Who Pursue Brain Optimization.

This program is designed for adults committed to measuring and optimizing cognitive function. The following profiles consistently fit well with the program.

Profile 01

The High-Performance Professional

Adults whose cognitive performance is central to their work — executives, founders, knowledge workers, athletes, performers. They want objective measurement of their cognitive baseline and visibility into how lifestyle factors are affecting their brain performance over time.

Profile 02

The Patient With Brain Fog or Cognitive Symptoms

Adults experiencing brain fog, difficulty concentrating, mental fatigue, or poor memory who want to understand what is contributing. Often these symptoms have multiple drivers — sleep, hormones, nutrition, depression. The measurement phase identifies which factors are most relevant for your situation.

Profile 03

The Patient With Depression That Hasn't Responded to Medication

Adults with Major Depressive Disorder who have tried antidepressant medication without satisfactory improvement, and who are now exploring Exomind TMS therapy as a non-pharmaceutical alternative. The evaluation phase establishes a baseline measurement of cognitive function before and after treatment.

Profile 04

The Longevity Patient Adding Brain Measurement

Adults already pursuing comprehensive Next Health care who are adding brain measurement to their existing optimization protocol. ReCODE may also be relevant for these patients; the two programs together provide both upstream biomarker-driven risk assessment and direct brain function measurement.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Patients Ask Most.

How is this different from the ReCODE Program?+

ReCODE is a biomarker-driven cognitive optimization program developed by Dr. Dale Bredesen, focused on identifying and addressing modifiable risk factors that influence cognitive function — nutrition, hormones, inflammation, toxin exposure, and similar upstream factors. The Cognitive Optimization Program measures the brain itself (its function and electrical patterns) and treats one specific condition (depression) that frequently contributes to cognitive symptoms. The two programs are complementary, not competing. A patient could legitimately pursue both.

Does everyone in this program receive Exomind treatment?+

No. Exomind is FDA-cleared specifically for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder in adults who have not responded to prior antidepressant medication. Many patients in the Cognitive Optimization Program never receive Exomind because depression is not a contributing factor to their situation. The evaluation phase determines whether Exomind is clinically indicated for you specifically.

What is cognitive testing and is it safe?+

Our cognitive testing uses a non-invasive headset to measure brain activity. The technology has not been associated with safety concerns in its current research use, but not intended to diagnose, treat, or manage any disease. The technology does not involve radiation, magnetic fields, or invasive procedures. Specific risks and contraindications are reviewed during your screening consultation.

How often should I repeat the measurements?+

Most patients repeat cognitive testing and QEEG measurements at three to six months to capture changes from interventions. After the first follow-up, ongoing measurement frequency depends on your individual goals — high-performance patients tracking cognitive optimization may measure every six months, patients managing depression after Exomind may measure at intervals aligned with their treatment course.

Are the measurement procedures painful or uncomfortable?+

cognitive testing involves wearing a comfortable headset for approximately 30 minutes — non-invasive, no needles, no discomfort. QEEG involves wearing an EEG headset with sensors that contact your scalp for approximately 5 minutes — also non-invasive and comfortable, with no gel or messy preparation. Neither measurement involves needles, blood draws, or invasive procedures.

Where do I receive this program?+

Brain measurement and Exomind treatment are offered at select Next Health locations. Specific location availability is discussed during your screening consultation. Some elements may require travel to a specific location for the full program experience.

Who developed these technologies?+

Cognitive testing is administered by our Next Health practitioners. QEEG technology in this program is provided by One Hype Wellness (One Brain X). Exomind is developed by BTL Industries (bodybybtl.com/solutions/exomind). Next Health licenses or partners with these manufacturers to deliver their technologies under our clinical infrastructure. Full attribution for technology and any published research belongs to the respective manufacturers.

Ready to Begin?

Stop Guessing About Your Brain. Start Measuring.

Schedule a screening consultation with a Next Health physician. We'll discuss your goals, your situation, and which components of the Cognitive Optimization Program are most relevant for you.

Or speak with our team: (310) 295-2075

The Cognitive Optimization Program at Next Health combines three technologies: cognitive testing with our practitioners, QEEG (an FDA-cleared device for recording quantitative EEG measurements), and Exomind (FDA-cleared by BTL Industries for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder in adult patients who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication in the current episode). None of these technologies is FDA-approved for the treatment, cure, or prevention of Alzheimer's disease, dementia, mild cognitive impairment, or any specific cognitive disorder. Individual candidacy for Exomind treatment is determined by your Next Health physician based on your medical evaluation. Outcome claims and research citations belong to each respective manufacturer. Patients with concerning cognitive symptoms should be evaluated by appropriate medical specialists in addition to or before pursuing this program. Please review our complete Medical Disclaimer for additional information.