Research talks, methods and news from the Tik Group.
EPICONN Retreat · 18 September 2026
Martin Tik presented “From Connectivity to Causality: Interleaved TMS-fMRI in EPICONN” at the EPICONN retreat at the Josephinum in Vienna. The talk connects functional network maps with controlled perturbation and chronometric experiments.
An introduction to our approach
Teaching at Aalto’s Science Factory
Martin Tik joined the teaching faculty of the 12th Science Factory: TMS–EEG Summer School and Workshop. His teaching explored interleaved and chronometric TMS-fMRI: combining targeted perturbation with whole-brain imaging, and asking how the effect of stimulation depends on timing and brain state.
Hosting the MRI of Neuromodulation community
Our group hosted and locally organized the 2nd Workshop on MRI of Neuromodulation: Target Engagement, Neural Mechanism, and Biomarker Development. Martin Tik served as host and co-chair, with Lena Nohava contributing to local organization.
The ESMRMB workshop, endorsed by ISMRM, brought researchers, clinicians and trainees together at the University of Vienna campus. Discussions connected MRI methods with questions about target engagement, neural mechanisms and biomarkers, with keynote lectures by Hartwig Siebner and Helen Mayberg.
Workshop and programme ↗ · Post-event report ↗
Returning to PolyU: methods exchange and hands-on collaboration
Martin Tik returned to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to work with Georg Kranz and colleagues on combined brain stimulation and neuroimaging. The visit included hands-on methodological exchange and a UBSN seminar on 3 February.
Supported by the University Research Facility in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience (UBSN) Capacity Building Scheme — Inbound Scheme.
Bringing TMS, fMRI and fNIRS together
Working with the Kranz Group, Martin Tik helped integrate TMS with simultaneous fMRI and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The collaboration brought stimulation and two complementary haemodynamic measurements into a shared experimental setup. The partner laboratory documented a simultaneous TMS/fNIRS/fMRI scan in April 2025.
Establishing concurrent TMS-fMRI
Martin Tik joined Georg Kranz and colleagues at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to establish concurrent TMS-fMRI, sharing practical expertise in stimulation inside the MR scanner and experimental setup. On 2 February, he presented Imaging Therapeutic Brain Stimulation at the UBSN Conference.
Supported within the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC) Mini-seed Fund project “Intra- and interindividual moderators of prefrontal excitability investigated using simultaneous TMS with neuroimaging” (2024; PI Georg Kranz; co-investigator Martin Tik).
DOC fellowship for Verena Witz
In 2026, Verena received a DOC fellowship for her research on language processing in Austrian Sign Language and German using fMRI and TMS.
Targeting and dose finding at the French Congress of Psychiatry
Martin Tik presented Optimization of targeting and dose finding informed by interleaved TMS-fMRI at the 16e Congrès Français de Psychiatrie, linking combined stimulation–imaging methods to questions of individualised targeting and dosing.