Personalized connectivity-based network targeting model of transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment of psychiatric disorders: computational feasibility and reproducibility

Abstract

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) holds promise for treating psychiatric disorders; however, the variability in treatment efficacy among individuals underscores the need for further improvement. Growing evidence has shown that TMS induces a broad network modulatory effect, and its effectiveness may rely on accurate modulation of the pathological network specific to each disorder. Therefore, determining the optimal TMS coil setting that will engage the functional pathway delivering the stimulation is crucial. Compared to group-averaged functional connectivity (FC), individual FC provides specific information about a person's brain functional architecture, offering the potential for more accurate network targeting for personalized TMS. However, the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of FC poses a challenge when utilizing individual resting-state FC. To overcome this challenge, the proposed solutions include increasing the scan duration and employing the cluster method to enhance the stability of FC. This study aimed to evaluate the stability of a personalized FC-based network targeting model in individuals with major depressive disorder or schizophrenia with auditory verbal hallucinations. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from the Human Connectome Project, we assessed the model's stability. We employed longer scan durations and cluster methodologies to improve the precision in identifying optimal individual sites. Our findings demonstrate that a scan duration of 28 minutes and the utilization of the cluster method achieved stable identification of individual sites, as evidenced by the intraindividual distance falling below the ~1cm spatial resolution of TMS. The current model provides a feasible approach to obtaining stable personalized TMS targets from the scalp, offering a more accurate method of TMS targeting in clinical applications.

Keywords: individualized functional connectivity; personalized targeting; psychiatric disorders; stability of functional connectivity; transcranial magnetic stimulation.