Transcranial Brain Stimulation 2016

From the 7th to the 10th of September, a good share of the Neurostimulab attended the 6th international conference on Transcranial Brain Stimulation, which was held in the nice city of Gottingen. For the ones who could not participate to this world-wide meeting of scientists interested in brain stimulation techniques, we will list some of the scientifically (and non-scientifically) relevant highlights, hoping that through our résumé you could  feel the lively atmosphere we experienced throughout the conference.

1 – we attended some great talks (you can have a look at our Twitter account to see which we chose as outstanding) from the top scientist in non invasive brain stimulation research field.

2 – overall we got the latest research trends in NIBS, which were tackled from different points of view. First and foremost inter-subject variability. Second biophysical foundation of tDCS effects. Then, clinical applicability of tDCS for therapy. Last I would list a trend to deeply investigate tACS, by applying close loop stimulation techniques and different imaging methods. However, posters and talks were absolutely not limited to these topics, and had something for each taste.

3 – It was a great networking opportunity. Meeting in real life so many scientist which usually for us are only papers authors was a great experience. As always, getting a feedback on your ongoing projects opens to new solutions and collaborations. Honestly it is not as easy as it seems to create the right atmosphere to encourage such scientific exchanges, which sometimes turn into enjoyable moments too.

4 – This is rather a personal point, but we were surprised and happy at the same time that in the biophysics and modeling session, our poster “Impact of coil waveform and orientation on TMS evoked potentials. a TMS-EEG study” was selected as short presentation. We were pleased to put our results in the spotlight, since we got even more feedback on possible future directions for our research.

5 – The poster session, even if rather busy, was a great opportunity to show some our newest research topics. Giulia presented results from TMS and tDCS effects on food attitude in healthy and clinical populations. Leonor was first author of two posters, one reporting results from tDCS effects on cortical excitability tested by means of TMS-EEG, and a second one on mirror-touch effect on S1. Alessandra, instead, reported how memory and motor performances were affected by tDCS in elderly and young healthy participants. If you are curious, you can ask for a handout.

6 – The conference was really great, but also very long :). At the end of the day I was feeling like a baby after a birthday party: you never want to leave since you want more fun, but as soon as your parents take you home you faint. That’s probably what “make the most out of it” means.

7 – Personally i loved visiting Gottingen again. I spent there more than one year during my PhD and it is always nice to go back. The main reason is meeting again the persons i worked with. Dr Antal, Dr Turi and all the prof. Paulus group are welcoming and helpful people and it is nice to see them again. It is also nice to visit this small german town which somehow i fell like belonging to me…at least part of it.

8 – It was our first live Tweeting experience…and i think it was not that bad! It still feels a little awkward but with time we will get used to it! The message is: Follow us!

That’s it. That’ my report of a great experience. you can find some selected pictures of the event below.

Bis Später!

Alberto