MULTI-SCALE MODELING OPTIMIZED TMS
Summary
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation tool that is widely used in neuroscience research and in clinical practice. Although TMS-based therapies for brain diseases have been approved by the FDA, their ability to reduce disabilities in a functionally sustained manner remain scarce. Based on our previous work we propose that part of the response variability to TMS stems from the currently used parameter selection methods that lead to a large variability in the induced electric fields and biological effects in the targeted brain region.
This project aims at developing individually tailored TMS applications to improve TMS-based neuromodulation in awake and non-anesthetized human subjects and patients. To this aim, (1) multi-scale computational modeling is used to systematically evaluate stimulation parameters and to prospectively plan and standardize TMS interventions. Simulations are informed, refined and validated (2) using animal models and modern sensor technologies, and subsequently tested in humans with (3) a real-time neuronavigated robotic system. In close collaboration with our BLBT partners we are working towards a cellular and molecular mechanistic understanding of TMS-based interventions thus establishing TMS as a powerful translational tool for personalized brain stimulation and synaptic plasticity modulation in health and disease.
Publications
Turi Z, Lenz M, Paulus W, Mittner M, Vlachos A. Selecting stimulation intensity in repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation studies: A systematic review between 1991 and 2020. Eur J Neurosci. 2021 May;53(10):3404-3415. doi: 10.1111/ejn.15195. Epub 2021 Apr 10. PMID: 33754397.
Turi Z, Normann C, Domschke K, Vlachos A. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Psychiatry: Is There a Need for Electric Field Standardization? Front Hum Neurosci. 2021 Mar 9;15:639640. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.639640. PMID: 33767616; PMCID: PMC7985083.
Shirinpour S, Hananeia N, Rosado J, Tran H, Galanis C, Vlachos A, Jedlicka P, Queisser G, Opitz A. Multi-scale modeling toolbox for single neuron and subcellular activity under transcranial magnetic stimulation. Brain Stimul. 2021 Nov-Dec; 14:1470-1482. doi: 10.1016/j.brs.2021.09.004. Epub 2021 Sep 22. PMID: 34562659