Prof Til Ole Bergmann | Transcranial Ultrasonic Stimulation (TUS) for non-invasive deep brain neuromodulation

This seminar is free to attend and is open to all, both within and outside the University. Attendance is possible both in-person and on Zoom, details of Zoom registration and physical location can be found above.

We are delighted to announce that the Centre for Human Brain Health (CHBH) will welcome Prof Til Ole Bergmann, Professor of Neurostimulation at Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center in Mainz, Germany, to present a hybrid CHBH Seminar, taking place on the date and time above. His full biography can be found below.

CHBH Event Host

Dr Tom Marshall

Abstract

Transcranial ultrasonic stimulation (TUS) is an emerging technique that comes with the promise of non-invasive deep brain neuromodulation at unprecedented spatial precision and which may revolutionize the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disease. Two major challenges currently constitute roadblocks for a wider adoption of the technique in basic research and clinical application. On the one hand, the human skull bone causes significant reflection, aberration, and attenuation of the ultrasound waves and thus unintended spatial shifts and intensity reductions of the stimulation focus. Individual acoustic simulations are used to tackle this issue but require high quality bone imaging data from CT or special MR-sequences as well as empirical validation. On the other hand, the large parameter space of possible stimulation parameters needs to be explored to establish robust and effective neuromodulation protocols, while considering the known state-dependency of TUS neuromodulatory effects, existing biophysical safety limitations, and peripheral co-stimulation confounds. Empirical proof of both target exposure and neuronal target engagement is thus required to evaluate and correctly interpret TUS neuromodulatory effects. While the former requires specialized imaging techniques such as MR-thermometry and MR-based acoustic radiation force imaging (MR-ARFI), the latter can be achieved by combining TUS with established neuroimaging, electrophysiological, or other brain stimulation techniques. In my talk I will provide an introduction into both the fundamentals and the practical aspects of TUS application, discuss the promises and pitfalls of a combined application with EEG, fMRI, and TMS, and provide examples from ongoing TUS research in our lab.

Speaker Biography

Prof. Dr. Til Ole Bergmann is an Associate Professor of Neurostimulation and deputy head of the Neuroimaging Center (NIC) at the Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center in Mainz, Germany, as well as a group leader at the Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research (LIR). The methodological focus of his research group (www.tobergmann.de) is on the simultaneous combination of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques (TMS, tES, TUS) with neuroimaging (fMRI) and electrophysiology (EEG) as well as the development of novel approaches such as brain state-dependent brain stimulation. In 2021, he received the John Rothwell Award for excellence in non-invasive brain stimulation research.