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Functional neuroimaging and electrophysiological techniques, such as fMRI or EEG/MEG, serve well to study spontaneous or task-related network and oscillatory activity as correlates of specific cognitive functions in the human brain. However, to infer causality of brain activity for cognition, it must be manipulated experimentally. In healthy humans, this can be achieved via non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques, such as transcranial magnetic, electric, or ultrasonic stimulation (TMS, tES, TUS). Their combination with neuroimaging (EEG, fMRI) further allows researchers to obtain proof-of neural target engagement, map the complex network response to causal perturbation, and investigate the state-dependency of effects. In turn, neuroimaging readouts are critical for prospectively informing high-precision neuromodulation approaches, personalizing stimulation targets and parameters, and enabling real-time brain state-dependent stimulation. I will discuss the technical challenges and solutions related to the concurrent application of these methods and present our work using concurrent TMS-fMRI and EEG-triggered TMS to study network and oscillatory activity during wakefulness and sleep in the context of attention and memory. I will further discuss the specific challenges of TUS for non-invasive deep brain neuromodulation and our current work in optimizing TUS targeting and proof of neural target engagement using concurrent TUS-fMRI and TUS-EEG during wakefulness and EEG-triggered TUS during sleep.
