Theme: Technology

Project Description

This project aims to develop and experimentally validate personalised maps of brain circuits to improve the targeting and understanding of neuromodulation. Current approaches such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) and low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) often use population-average brain atlases, which may not accurately reflect an individual’s anatomy or connectivity.

Using a large multimodal 3T MRI dataset spanning both sexes and a broad age range, the project will combine imaging contrasts to model each individual’s neural network anatomy and connectivity. The framework will integrate established anatomical knowledge with person-specific imaging and quantify uncertainty in the resulting network maps. 

Where possible, these personalised models will then be prospectively tested using LIFU in volunteers and selected patient groups, examining whether they can predict the physiological, imaging and behavioural effects of targeted stimulation. Existing DBS data will provide complementary evidence from invasive neuromodulation. Ultimately, the project asks whether responses to brain stimulation can be better understood and predicted from the organisation of an individual’s own neural circuits rather than population-average models.