iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

2nd UK Theoretical Neuroscience Workshop December 18, 2026 City St George's, University of London dpinotsis.wixsite.com/uk-theoretic...

dpinotsis.wixsite.com

Home | UK Theoretical Neuro

040

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Together, these findings add to growing evidence that non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation can modulate human memory, while highlighting ultrasound as a promising alternative approach for peripheral neuromodulation.

001

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

• Baseline anxiety predicted individual responsiveness to stimulation, highlighting the importance of individual variability in neuromodulation. • Ultrasound stimulation showed promising tolerability, with less reported skin irritation than electrical stimulation.

100

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

• Active taVNS enhanced working-memory sensitivity (d′) from pre- to post-stimulation. • The treatment effect did not significantly differ between electrical and ultrasound taVNS, although potentially meaningful modality-specific differences remain to be established.

100

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

In this study, Dr Alicia Falcon-Caro directly compared electrical (E-taVNS) and ultrasound (U-taVNS) transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for enhancing working memory. 🧠 Using a sham-controlled, within-subject design and a 3-back working-memory task, we found that:

100

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Very pleased to share our latest work, led by Prof. Jeyoung Jung: “Transcutaneous auricular Vagus nerve stimulation for working memory enhancement: A comparative study of electrical and ultrasound stimulation” www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #ultrasound #neuromodulation #cognition #zenbud

132

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Our two research challenges are now live on the Encode: AI for Science Challengescape - connecting bottlenecks with the AI talent that can solve them You can find our projects by filtering for 'Nottingham' encode-challengescape.pillar.vc Take a look and reach out if you could help...

encode-challengescape.pillar.vc

Encode: Challengescape

Encode: AI for Science - Challengescape

000

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Do you have 3+ years of postdoctoral experience and want to develop noninvasive interventions for schizophrenia? Contact me if you want to look into transcranial focused ultrasound or ultrasound vagus nerve stimulation at our N3 Neurotechnology Centre. www.mqmentalhealth.org/schizophreni...

032

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

While there are several novel interventions for mental health, including noninvasive brain stimulation, few make it into the UK healthcare system. Join the campaign to make more mental health treatments accessible in the NHS: mood-disorders.co.uk/parliament-c... #depression #tms #ultrasound

010

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

I get a lot of spam from predatory journals, but this is really low effort:

021

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Great to be featured in the latest episode of FUS Forward regarding NeurGear's and our ultrasound vagus nerve stimulation research and development: Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/0z8O... Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... NeurGear's Zenbud System: zenbud.health

open.spotify.com

Ep. 8 self experimentation

Spotify video

020

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Open PhD position in our lab: noninvasive ultrasound vagus nerve stimulation as an intervention for mental health conditions such as depression Deadline: Fri 9 Jan Apply here: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

010

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Searching for a Christmas present for a #neuroscience, #psychology, or #NeuralNetworks researcher? You may consider 'Changing Connectomes: Evolution, Development, and Dynamics in Network Neuroscience' from @mitpress.bsky.social mitpress.mit.edu/books/changi...

071

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

💡 Why it matters: These results highlight taVNS as a promising, well-tolerated tool for modulating emotional bias, with potential applications in mood and anxiety disorders. @FUSFoundation @NeurGear #mood #neuromodulation /end

000

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

✨ Key findings: Both E-taVNS and U-taVNS shifted emotional bias toward more positive interpretations, even for ambiguous faces. Ultrasound stimulation showed better tolerability, suggesting strong potential for long-term use. 3/

100

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Thrilled to share our preprint exploring how non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation can shape emotional processing in young adults. 🔍 What we studied: We compared electrical (E-taVNS) and ultrasound (U-taVNS) stimulation (zenbud.health ) while participants completed a facial emotion bias task. 2/

zenbud.health

ZenBud Ultrasound Vagus Nerve Stimulator

Experience peace of mind with the ZenBud device. Using advanced ultrasound technology the ZenBud activates your 'rest' or parasympathetic system helping you be more relaxed and at ease.

100

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Happy to be involved in this research, led by my colleague Dr Jeyoung Jung: Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation enhances emotional bias towards happiness in healthy young adults: A comparative study of electrical and ultrasound stimulation www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/

100

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Join us as PhD student using noninvasive ultrasound neuromodulation on the project 'Reducing pain reactivity for children in the Emergency Department using non-invasive vagal nerve stimulation' Find more information at midlandsmhndtp.ac.uk/applications... #ultrasound #neuromodulation #Zenbud

midlandsmhndtp.ac.uk

2026 Projects - Midlands Mental Health and Neurosciences PhD Programme

012

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Good to see so many Nottingham researchers at the @brainbox-init.bsky.social neuromodulation meeting! A great meeting with ideas that we can bring home to our N3 neurotechnology centre www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/centre-... #tus #tms #tacs

050

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

It is not about particular countries but more that number of patents is not really linked to number of companies/employees

010

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

New: Zenbud ultrasound vagus nerve stimulation sham device cannot be distinguished from active device www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15... We are now performing sham-controlled studies to observe cognitive and physiological effects... #ultrasound #vagusnerve #neuromodulation @mdpiopenaccess.bsky.social

010

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Interesting to see that the UK is number 2 worldwide (after the USA) in terms of consumer neurotech employment, number of companies, and funding deals... From Peter Schlecht's neurotech report at gppi.net/assets/Hensi...

150

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

yes, this is does not go through the skull: it just reaches branches of the vagus nerve around the ear

000

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Great to see that the next generation of NeurGear's Zenbud ultrasound vagus nerve stimulator is now on sale! First results show reductions in anxiety (neuro.jmir.org/2025/1/e69770 ). Find out more about the device here: zenbud.health/pages/anxiety

120

Reposted by Marcus Kaiser

Rodrigo Braga @rodbraga.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

🚨 New Preprint 🚨 Targeting intracranial electrical stimulation (ES) to network regions defined within individuals causes network-level effects By Cyr et al. *** Q: Can we use individualized network maps from precision fMRI to modulate a targeted network via intracranial ES? A: Yes! 🧵:

18037

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

You need to be registered healthcare practitioner in the UK. If so, you can contact the programme manager Roxanne for the application form. The deadline is this Tuesday.

000

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Are you a registered healthcare professional searching for a PhD position? Using Zenbud #ultrasound #vagusnerve stimulation, the PhD position with me and Ben Marson is about 'Reducing pain reactivity for children in Emergency Departments' midlandsmhndtp.ac.uk/uon-students...

121

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

We attended the London Great Exhibition Road festival over the weekend and 250+ people tried our Zenbud vagus nerve stimulation device! One person suffering from anxiety/depression even came back on day 2 bringing a friend... www.zenbud.health #ultrasound #neuromodulation #vagusnerve #ExRdFest

140

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

Our N3 Centre for Neurotechnology, Neuromodulation, and Neurotherapeutics has officially launched at @uniofnottingham.bsky.social #neuromodulation #imaging #focusedultrasound @fusfoundation.bsky.social www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/centre-...

052

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

30 April deadline approaching! Last chance to apply...

023

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Last chance to apply! Deadline: Monday 7 April...

011

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Nice comparison of ultrasound and temporal interference stimulation in Table 3: www.mrcbndu.ox.ac.uk/sites/defaul... Ultrasound blinding option that is not mentioned is ventricle stimulation: doi.org/10.1016/j.br...

041

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Join our lab for a year with the 'AI for Precision Neuromodulation' fellowship project! Find out more at: encode.pillar.vc/projects/neu...

encode.pillar.vc

ARIA Opportunity Space: Scalable Neural Interfaces

032

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

In conclusion, our investigation in a high-powered awake non-human primate dataset shows that some FUS effects across the network last for an hour, maybe longer. This approach could be translated to humans by using several acquisitions per subject or longer sequences. doi.org/10.1016/j.cr... 5/5

doi.org

Redirecting

010

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Conversely, brain metrics related to activity (fALFF) and signal homogeneity (ReHo) are altered for much longer: Going outside our time window of 100 minutes. doi.org/10.1016/j.cr... 4/5

100

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

We demonstrated that brain connectivity between the target and the rest of the brain was mostly changed for around 1h following the ultrasound stimulation. doi.org/10.1016/j.cr... 3/5

100

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

In this article, we present results about one animal who underwent around 50 MRIs, half of which followed ultrasound stimulation of the left anterior part of the hippocampus, a promising target since it is involved in so many brain dysfunctions. doi.org/10.1016/j.cr... 2/5

100

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

I am very happy to share our latest work, led by C. Atkinson-Clement, C. Petkov, and M. Kaiser, on the temporal dynamics of brain changes following ultrasound stimulation in the rhesus monkey. A huge thanks to all the team for making this work possible. doi.org/10.1016/j.cr... 1/5

162

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

We are soon starting our 5-year MRC programme grant on novel noninvasive ultrasound or magnetic stimulation for brain and mental health (see press release below). Watch out for our job advertisement for a postdoctoral fellow in neuromodulation later on... www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/new-res...

nottingham.ac.uk

News - New research will lead to improved brain function for patients with a range of mental health conditions - University of Nottingham

Experts at the University of Nottingham have received £2.4m in funding to develop new noninvasive brain stimulation interventions for patients with a wide range of conditions including depression, sch...

041

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

A chance to join our Centre for Neurotechnology, Neuromodulation, and Neurotherapeutics by applying for a Newton postdoctoral fellowship from the Royal Society. If you are interested in 11.7T human MRI, OPM-MEG, noninvasive neuromodulation (e.g. focused ultrasound), or mental health let us know...

010

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

Our survey article on how public and patients perceive interventions for brain and mental health, from implants and drugs to noninvasive focused ultrasound, is now published! doi.org/10.1038/s415... @fusfoundation.bsky.social @itrusst.bsky.social @brainbox-neuro.bsky.social

054

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

PhD position available for healthcare professionals on 'Mechanisms of action of ultrasound vagus nerve stimulation in generalised anxiety disorder' midlandsmhndtp.ac.uk/project/2025...

001

Marcus Kaiser @connectomelab.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Looks like I found the xmas tree option ;->

010

Reposted by Marcus Kaiser

Owen Muir, M.D., DFAACAP, FCTMSS @owenmuir.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

Why do we have so many medical drugs and so few medical devices in outpatient mental health? And explanation. open.substack.com/pub/thefront...

open.substack.com

This Medical Device Went to Market...

And the rest languished. A brief history.

022