Upcoming Webinar: Changing Connectomes: Improved Cognition Through Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation
Non-invasive neuromodulation represents a major opportunity for brain and mental health interventions. Based on its ability to target deep-brain structures, transcranial focused ultrasound neuromodulation is the most promising approach, destined to change future interventions. However, the mechanism by which ultrasound neuromodulation leads to longer-term cognitive changes remains unclear.
Here, we unravel the temporal dynamics of the ultrasound neuromodulation effects in humans. We tested the biological (MRI resting-state functional connectivity) and behavioural (performance in stop-signal task) effects of focused ultrasound stimulation of inferior frontal cortex or thalamus on healthy participants. Our findings reveal that the effects of ultrasound neuromodulation are predominantly time-constrained and spatially distributed in brain regions functionally connected with the directly stimulated area.
Furthermore, these biological effects are indicative of behavioural changes that persist for at least an hour following stimulation. We will also discuss how network metrics change after stimulation and discuss some ongoing work in our lab on developing closed-loop neuromodulation for brain and mental health.
Finally, we will give some information on the launch of The Centre for Neurotechnology, Neuromodulation, and Neurotherapeutics at the University of Nottingham.
Speaker: Professor Marcus Kaiser
Marcus Kaiser is Professor of Neuroinformatics at the University of Nottingham. He is leading a team using computer simulations and brain stimulation devices to improve cognitive performance in patients suffering from severe mental illness (schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder). The long-term goal is to replace pharmaceutical drugs for treating mental health conditions with non-invasive brain stimulation interventions. He is author of 'Changing Connectomes' (https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/changing-connectomes ). He is Chair of Neuroinformatics UK, Chair of the Neuroinformatics SIG of the British Neuroscience Association (BNA), and Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB).