Dr L. Verhagen (Lennart)

To understand our brain, and especially to treat it, requires theory, measurement, and intervention. This last component - the need for tools to probe and modulate the human brain - has proven particularly challenging.

Current neuromodulation techniques are either highly invasive or restricted to the surface of the brain. Focused transcranial ultrasound has the potential to overcome this. We have shown how low-intensity ultrasound can be safely focused through the skull to stimulate deep brain structures with high precision.

As integrative neuroscientists, we study the brain and cognition across scales and domains. We bring together engineering, neuroscience, psychology, physics, biology, and neurology to develop neuromodulation protocols that work with the brain, rather than trying to override it, and that work for people rather than despite them.

In this way, our lab develops ultrasonic neuromodulation tools for basic research and clinical application. We focus on optimizing efficacy and safety, minimizing confounds, and laying the strongest possible foundations for this new neurotechnology in humans. Lennart Verhagen chairs the international consortium for safety and standards of ultrasonic neuromodulation in humans.