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Our Research

The TOBergmannLab (Neurostimulation Group) is located at the Neuroimaging Center (NIC) of the Johannes Gutenberg University Medical Center and associated with the Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research (LIR). The main focus of our group is on the development and application of multimodal non-invasive neurostimulation and neuroimaging approaches, combining neuronavigated transcranial brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic (TMS), electric (tES), and ultrasound (TUS) stimulation, with concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as well as electro- and magnetoencephalography (EEG, MEG). We use concurrent EEG-fMRI, TMS-fMRI, TMS-EEG, tES-MEG, and tES-TMS, as well as (closed-loop) brain state dependent brain stimulation approaches, such as real-time EEG-triggered TMS, to investigate the function of neuronal oscillations in cognition, in particular their ability to organize information processing and to gate synaptic plasticity in the wake and sleeping human brain. We also develop and distribute open-source software and hardware solutions to automate such multimodal neurostimulation/-imaging experiments (www.best-toolbox.org) in order to


facilitate objectivity, transparency, and reproducibility in the field. Our next key endeavour is to explore the potential of robot-navigated transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) for the non-invasive neuromodulation of both cortical and subcortical targets in both healthy human volunteers and psychiatric patient populations.

Our Methods

Non-Invasive Transcranial Brain Stimulation

TMS, TACS. TDCS

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Multimodal Neuroimaging

EEG, MEG, PSG, (f)MRI, Concurrent EEG-fMRI

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Combining Brain Stimulation with Neuroimaging

TMS-EEG, TMS-fMRI, tES-MEG

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Brain-State Dependent Brain Stimulation

Closed-Loop, Real-Time EEG-triggered TMS

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Software Development

MAGIC Toolbox, BEST Toolbox

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Selected Publications

Hassan U, Pillen S, Zrenner C, Bergmann TO (2022) The Brain Electrophysiological recording & STimulation (BEST) toolbox. Brain Stimul 15:109-115.

Bergmann TO, Varatheeswaran R, Hanlon CA, Madsen KH, Thielscher A, Siebner HR. (2021) Concurrent TMS-fMRI for causal network perturbation and proof of target engagement. Neuroimage: 118093.

Bergmann TO, Hartwigsen G (2020). Inferring Causality from Noninvasive Brain Stimulation in Cognitive Neuroscience. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 2020:1-29.

Bergmann TO, Lieb A, Zrenner C, Ziemann U (2019). Pulsed facilitation of corticospinal excitability by the sensorimotor mu-alpha rhythm. Journal of Neuroscience. 2019;39(50):10034-10043.

Conde V, Tomasevic L, Akopian I, Stanek K, Saturnino GB, Thielscher A, Bergmann TO, Siebner HR (2019). The non-transcranial TMS-evoked potential is an inherent source of ambiguity in TMS-EEG studies. NeuroImage, doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.10.052. [*contributed equally]

Bergmann TO, Karabanov AN, Hartwigsen G, Thielscher A, Siebner HR (2016). Combining non-invasive transcranial brain stimulation with neuroimaging and electrophysiology: current approaches and future perspectives. NeuroImage, 140:4-192.

Herring JD, Thut G, Jensen O, Bergmann TO (2015). Attention modulates TMS-locked alpha oscillations in the visual cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 35(43):14435-14447.

Staresina BP*, Bergmann TO*, Bonefond M, van der Meij R, Jensen O, Deuker L, Elger CE, Axmacher N & Fell, J. (2015). Hierarchical nesting of slow oscillations, spindles and ripples in the human hippocampus during sleep. Nature Neuroscience, 18(11):1679-86. [*contributed equally]

Jensen O, Gips B, Bergmann TO*, Bonnefond* M (2014) Temporal coding organized by coupled alpha and gamma oscillations prioritize visual processing. Trends in Neurosciences, 37(7):357-369. [*contributed equally]

Bergmann TO, Mölle M, Schmidt MA, Lindner C, Marshall L, Born J, Siebner HR (2012). EEG-Guided Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Reveals Rapid Shifts in Motor Cortical Excitability during the Human Sleep Slow Oscillation. Journal of Neuroscience, 32:243-253