Brainclinics News

In collaboration with Brainclinics Foundation and Martijn Arns, Eva Dijkstra - an external PhD student within Brain Stimulation lab at Maastricht University - conducted a study exploring heart-brain coupling (HBC) as a potential biomarker for TMS-induced frontal-vagal engagement. The aim was to show that heart-brain coupling may serve as an objective marker for improved TMS site selection and determination of individualized frontal excitability thresholds. In order to assess this, the study was split into 2 parts: Study 1 (A and B): Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS)–induced HBC (2 seconds iTBS on; 8 seconds off: HBC = 0.1 Hz) was validated in 15 (1A) and 22 (1B) patients with major depressive disorder from 2 double-blind placebo-controlled studies. Study 2: 10 healthy subjects received a 10-Hz "Dash" protocol (5 seconds on, 11 seconds off; 0.0625 Hz) across four TMS sites with varying intensities with the goal of observing any dose-dependent and site-specific HBC responses. Key Findings: In Study 1A, heart-brain coupling (HBC) successfully distinguished active from sham intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) with 83% accuracy, with only active stimulation producing rhythmic heart rate decelerations at 0.1 Hz that were tightly coupled to the stimulation trains. Study 1B further demonstrated the robustness of HBC as a marker, accurately predicting stimulation condition with 89.5% accuracy - even when active and sham stimulation were delivered at the same scalp location. In Study 2, the authors observed clear dose-dependent entrainment of HBC at 0.0625 Hz, with effects varying according to the stimulation site, highlighting the spatial sensitivity of HBC responses.   Implications: These findings suggest that HBC can serve as a reliable, non-invasive biomarker for assessing TMS-induced engagement of the frontal-vagal network. Incorporating HBC measurements could enhance the precision of TMS therapy by informing site selection and dosing parameters, potentially improving outcomes for individuals undergoing treatment for depression. Special thanx to Eva Dijkstra for her contribution to this study and best of luck for her upcoming Phd defense at Maastricht University this Wednesday (04.06.2025)!!!   👏 Thank you to all authors Eva Dijkstra, Hanneke van Dijk, Fidel Vila-Rodriguez, Lauren Zwienenberg, Renée R., John Coetzee, Daniel Blumberger, Jonathan Downar, Nolan Williams, Alexander Sack and Martijn Arns for their valuable contributions  🔗 Full article can be accessed here: https://lnkd.in/e94nSMkc   #TMS #HeartBrainCoupling #DepressionTreatment #Neuromodulation

New speaker announcement: Joseph Taylor (Harvard University) will present at the Brainclinics TMS Masterclass and Certification Course his latest results and insights titled: From Scalp to Circuit: Evolving TMS Targeting Approaches. This will include the latest results from the AINT trial with very exciting outcomes answering what the added value of fMRI based TMS targetting is! Seats are filling-up fast, sign-up here: https://lnkd.in/e8dzv_7R

You can now call me Dr. Dijkstra! Yesterday, I successfully defended my PhD. After years of research, writing, and analyzing, I had the honour of defending my dissertation “The Heart–Brain Connection: A Pathway to Personalized TMS Treatment” in front of an inspiring committee of experts. A heartfelt thank-you to my supervisors Alexander Sack, Martijn Arns and Hanneke van Dijk and to my assessment and defense committee members Bernadette M. Jansma, Bart Rutten, Martin Tik, Anne Weigand, Sonja Kotz, and Teresa Schuhmann for their time, thoughtful questions, and engaging discussion. This project explored how real-time physiological signals — heart–brain coupling — could help us personalize rTMS treatment in depression. I’m excited about the future of biomarker-driven mental health care, and proud to contribute a small step in that direction. If you're interested, you can read the full dissertation here: https://lnkd.in/eVmfmdRX. To everyone who supported me along the way: thank you! 📸 Photo by Stefan Sanders Fotografie.

Tomorrow Eva Dijkstra will defend her PhD thesis: The Heart-Brain Connection: A pathway to personalized TMS treatment at Maastricht University with supervisors Alexander Sack, Martijn Arns and Hanneke van Dijk Congrats Eva Dijkstra with this great achievement and enjoy your day! Download her - and many other - PhD theses here: https://lnkd.in/ewk5Re5F Also great thanks to the reading committee: Martin Tik, Anne Weigand, Bart Rutten & Bernadette M. Jansma

Inspiring days at Lviv hospital with great talks by Ilan Harpaz-Rotem and Noah Philip, along with the successful completion of the first TMS hands-on training day. Walking through the hospital and nightly bomb shelters bring the horrors of war very close, emphasizing the urgent need for these atrocities to come to an end soon. Also great thanks to organizing committee, UNBROKEN Ukraine and our great host Oleg Berezyuk!

On my way to Ukraine to donate our TMS equipment and train people to use TMS as a treatment for PTSD (with Noah Philip and UNBROKEN Ukraine). Consider to donate as well, either in-kind (TMS equipment) or financially and help people combat PTSD! https://unbroken.org.ua/ or https://lnkd.in/eXkhyuKm Thx. DEYMED Diagnostic, Magstim and neurocare group (Klaus Schellhorn) for support! Stanford Brain Stimulation Lab

Just out: Lifestyle Effects in a RCT of Neurofeedback for ADHD, highlighting a pathway for evening LED exposure to circadian rhythm and sleep effects on inattention in ADHD. https://lnkd.in/gzB3zG-x

📢 Speaker Highlight: Andreas Horn Join us in Nijmegen, Netherlands (Sept 30-Oct 2) for his talk: 'Toward connectomic based neuromodulation' at the Brainclinics Foundation TMS Masterclass 🔗 Register today: https://lnkd.in/e8dzv_7R

Eva Dijkstra, voorzitter van de klinische commissie van Stichting Hersenstimulatie, verdedigt op woensdag 4 juni om 13:00 uur haar proefschrift: The Heart-Brain Connection: A pathway to personalized TMS treatment. Een mooie mijlpaal en een belangrijke bijdrage aan het veld van hersenstimulatie. De ceremonie is online te volgen via: https://lnkd.in/eFcNUZib Link naar het proefschrift: https://lnkd.in/e6ME8pZH We wensen Eva veel succes bij haar verdediging!