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Updated: Mar 1, 2026
Neuroimaging-Guided TMS–EEG for Real-Time Cortical Network Mapping
Published on: June 13, 2025
Neuro-Cardiac-Guided TMS (NCG-TMS): Probing DLPFC-sgACC-vagus nerve connectivity using heart rate - First results
Tabitha A Iseger1, Frank Padberg2, J Leon Kenemans3
1Dept. of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands; Research Institute Brainclinics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Background:
Given that many studies suggest a role of DLPFC-sgACC connectivity in depression and prior research demonstrating that neuromodulation of either of these nodes modulates parasympathetic activity and results in a heart rate deceleration, a new method is proposed to individualize localization of the DLPFC. This can, among others, be useful for rTMS treatment of depression.
Methods:
Ten healthy subjects received three trains of 10Hz rTMS randomly over 7 target regions (10-20 system).
Results:
Overall, F3 and F4 expressed the largest heart rate deceleration, in line with studies suggesting these are the best 10-20 sites to target the DLPFC. On the individual level, 20-40% subjects expressed the largest heart rate deceleration at FC3 or FC4, indicating individual differences as to the 'optimal site for stimulation'.
Conclusions:
These results show that the NCG-TMS method is valid to localize the entry into the DLPFC-sgACC network.
