Andreas Vlachos: Reverse translation in brain stimulation: cellular and molecular mechanisms of rTMS

Abstract

Despite numerous clinical studies, which have investigated the therapeutic potential of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in various brain diseases, our knowledge of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying rTMS-based therapies remains limited. Thus, a deeper understanding of rTMS-induced neural plasticity is required to optimize current treatment protocols in the field of non-invasive brain stimulation. Studies in small animals or appropriate in vitro preparations (including models of brain diseases) provide highly useful experimental approaches in this context.

State- of-the-art electrophysiological and live-cell imaging techniques that are well established in basic neuroscience can help answering some of the major questions in the field, such as (i) which neural structures are activated during TMS, (ii) how does rTMS induce plasticity, and (iii) what are the long-term effects of rTMS-based plasticity on complex brain function in health and disease. I will present our recent work in which we employ a reverse translation strategy, by combining computational modeling and ex vivo experiments, to learn more about the cellular and molecular mechanisms of rTMS; arguing that these findings may support the development of more effective and specific applications of rTMS in clinical practice.

The talk will be held online via Zoom

Please contact Lea Lott lea.lott@psychologie.uni-freiburg.de for Meeting ID and password.

Hosted by

Prof. Dr. Markus Heinrichs
Prof. Dr. Monika Schönauer

More about the speaker and his research:

Andreas Vlachos