Tailored brain stimulation: neuroscientists in Maastricht and Nijmegen join forces

It is no coincidence that Maastricht and Nijmegen are the locations for the strongest MRI scanners, because advanced imaging, high field imaging, is something both universities have specialised in for years. And they can complement each other in this. For example, Radboud University has the Focused Ultrasound Initiative, and both places – together with Radboudumc and Maastricht UMC+ – are working with new techniques such as transcranial magnetic or electrical stimulation and temporal interference. All these techniques influence the brain in a non-invasive way, i.e. from the outside of the skull. 

Non-invasive brain stimulation is a spearhead of research in Maastricht. It can be used for many things, Goebel explains: ‘In the areas of movement, language – think of rehabilitation after a stroke – and vision. But there are also applications for psychiatric and neurological disorders. If we combine all our knowledge and techniques, we can help patients even better.’

And that is necessary, Goebel believes. He cites a case told by his colleague Yasin Temel, an expert on deep brain stimulation who collaborates already with Nijmegen. In this case a Parkinson's patient got rid of his tremor through deep brain stimulation (a method that is invasive). But he also remained depressed, something that is more common with this disease. ‘If a patient can brush his teeth again but is still desperately unhappy, then we cannot say that we have helped that patient properly, can we? I am convinced that it can be done better when combining invasive and non-invasive methods.’

The ‘next step’ brain stimulation that the scientists have in mind does require a significant hurdle to be overcome: more customisation is needed. De Haan: ‘We want to move towards methods that are adaptive and self-learning. Methods that take into account all the factors that are important for this individual patient and can respond to them directly. It is a challenging task to understand all relevant factors and integrate them into systems that train themselves and thus become increasingly intelligent.

This is where AI comes in, represented in this project by Marcel van Gerven and Mario Senden, AI experts at Maastricht University and the Donders Institute. Goebel: ‘We want to take into account factors that are not always included because they seem too complex. Did someone not sleep well, are they having a bad day, is there trouble at home? We really need AI for that, to learn from countless values and measurements and to respond to them with the right response.’