PhD Defence Eva Sophia Anna Dijkstra

Keywords: Depression, TMS treatment, Heart-brain coupling, Personalized psychiatry
 

"The Heart-Brain Connection: A pathway to personalized TMS treatment"

Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an established, non-invasive treatment for patients who do not respond to standard therapies. However, treatment outcomes vary, and there is a need for tools to individualize TMS more effectively. In her PhD research, Eva Dijkstra investigated two potential biomarkers to guide and personalize TMS treatment: sleep disorders and heart-brain coupling (HBC). While sleep disorders did not predict treatment outcomes, HBC—measured via heart rate fluctuations during stimulation—was found to be a promising physiological marker. The research showed that stronger HBC was associated with improved early treatment response, and a specific threshold value (10.6) may help guide clinical decision-making. As a non-invasive and scalable method, HBC has potential to support more tailored TMS interventions and is currently being implemented in clinical settings. These findings contribute to ongoing efforts toward personalized approaches in psychiatric care. 

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