Modulatory Effects of Personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) on Heart-Brain Coupling in Individuals With Depressive Tendencies

Summary

This study focuses on individuals with depressive tendencies and investigates the regulatory effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)-guided by personalized functional connectivity mapping-on heart-brain coupling in this population, while also exploring the underlying mechanisms.Participants will undergo 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans, followed by four different types of neurostimulation: stimulation targeting individualized Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) -Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex (sgACC) functional connectivity, stimulation targeting individualized DLPFC-insula functional connectivity, standard F3 targeting, and sham stimulation. The order of these stimulation sessions will be randomized. Researchers will simultaneously record the participants' electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiography (ECG) signals before and after stimulation, and will record ECG in real-time during the stimulation. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the effects of DLPFC targeting specificity on metrics such as heart-brain coupling in individuals with depressive tendencies, thereby providing a basis for future research on objective assessment and personalized interventions for depression.

Conditions

• Depression Disorder
• fMRI Research
• Heart-Brain Coupling

Interventions

DEVICE

DLPFC-insula TMS

Transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC); the specific insular subregion exerting the greatest negative influence on the left DLPFC was identified based on Granger causality connectivity. Stimulation parameters were as follows: frequency of 10 Hz, intensity of 90% of the resting motor threshold (RMT), a 2-second stimulation duration followed by an 8-second inter-stimulus interval, and 45 repeated sequences (each comprising 20 pulses) for a total of 900 pulses, resulting in a total session duration of approximately 7.5 minutes.

DEVICE

DLPFC-sgACC TMS

Transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, with individualized targeting of the region in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex showing the strongest negative functional correlation with the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex. The stimulation parameters were: frequency of 10 Hz, intensity of 90% of the resting motor threshold (RMT), 2-second stimulation duration, and 8-second inter-stimulus interval; each sequence comprised 20 pulses, with 45 sequences repeated for a total of 900 pulses, resulting in a total session duration of approximately 7.5 minutes.

DEVICE

10-20 F3 TMS

Transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, targeting the F3 site based on the international 10-20 system. The stimulation parameters were as follows: frequency of 10 Hz, intensity of 90% RMT, 2-second stimulation duration, 8-second inter-train interval, and 20 pulses per train; a total of 45 trains were delivered (900 pulses in total), with a single session lasting approximately 7.5 minutes.

DEVICE

sham TMS

A form of sham transcranial magnetic stimulation-either inactive or sensory-matched-designed to simulate the sensation of stimulation associated with device activation without delivering therapeutic frequencies.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Xidian University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-08-01

Primary Completion

2026-12-01

Completion

2026-12-30

Countries

• China

Study Locations