Personalizing Brain Stimulation for Psychiatric Disorders: From Circuits to Closed-Loop Control
Abstract
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an established treatment for depression, yet response rates remain at 50% 1 month after treatment. Despite two decades of clinical use, substantial room for improvement remains. This overview examines biomarker-guided personalization of brain stimulation. The authors trace the translational path from invasive circuit-level insights through noninvasive biomarkers to clinical deployment. With validated biomarkers, systematic optimization becomes possible: stimulation parameter tuning, state-dependent approaches, augmentation strategies, and closed-loop systems. The path forward requires randomized trials demonstrating that biomarker-guided personalization improves outcomes beyond standard care, justifying increased complexity and costs. Success would mark an important pathway in interventional psychiatry's evolution to precision medicine.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
Neurological disorders and treatments
Vagus Nerve Stimulation Research
Publication details
- Journal / source
- American Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- American Psychiatric Association Publishing
- Volume
- 183
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 169–179
- Publication date
- 1 March 2026
- Language
- EN