Martin Tik leads the Tik Group at the Medical University of Vienna. With a background in psychology and medical physics, his research connects brain imaging with stimulation to investigate human brain networks and inform personalised neuromodulation. His work spans interleaved TMS-fMRI, individual target engagement and chronometric approaches to cognition.
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Scientific partnerships and community
Our research is built on close partnerships with Anna-Lisa Schuler, the Stanford Brain Stimulation Lab, and the independent groups led by Lena Nohava and Michael Woletz.
- Austria’s country representative in the European Society for Brain Stimulation.
- Host and co-chair of the 2nd Workshop on MRI of Neuromodulation, Vienna, 7–9 April 2026.
- Austrian Management Committee member of COST Action Riseup-PPD (2019–2023), working with Ana Ganho-Ávila, Anna-Lisa Schuler and colleagues on neuroimaging and neurophysiology in peripartum depression.
Selected publications
Chronometric interleaved TMS-fMRI shows state-dependent network effects underlying speech production
Chronometric TMS-fMRI of personalized left dorsolateral prefrontal target reveals state-dependency of subgenual anterior cingulate cortex effects
Concurrent TMS/fMRI reveals individual DLPFC dose-response pattern
Acute TMS/fMRI response explains offline TMS network effects – An interleaved TMS-fMRI study
Recent methods and collaborative publications
Consensus guidelines for the use of concurrent TMS-fMRI in cognitive and clinical neuroscience
Woolgar, Feredoes and colleagues, including Martin Tik and Maria Vasileiadi. Nature Protocols 21, 1–17. Published online in 2025; issue publication 2026.
How Standardized Is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Treatment for Depression? Large-Cohort Modeling Reveals Systematic Dosimetric Variability
Zhang and colleagues, including Martin Tik, with Georg Kranz. A Hong Kong collaboration examining variation in modelled cortical dose.
A new flexible coil setup to measure interleaved TMS-fMRI response during accelerated iTBS
Tik, Coetzee, Kerr, Johnson, Geoly, Sridhar, Hunegnaw, Veerapal, Rolle and Williams. Brain Stimulation 18(4), 1197–1199.
Selected awards and research support
- 2022: Visiting Scholarship — ML-based optimization for personalized brain stimulation, Bavaria California Technology Center.
- 2022: Stanford Bio-X Travel Award.
- 2021, 2017 and 2015: OHBM Merit Abstract Awards.
- 2018: Janssen Special Award.
- 2015: Best Abstract Prize — Interdisciplinary College.
Peripartum depression and accelerated stimulation
Neural correlates of peripartum depression: a systematic review, meta-analysis and comparison to major depressive disorder
Sobral and colleagues, including Maria Vasileiadi, Martin Tik, Ana Ganho-Ávila and Anna-Lisa Schuler.
A Riseup-PPD collaboration synthesising neuroimaging evidence. The paper explicitly acknowledges COST Action CA18138.
Accelerated Theta Burst Stimulation: Safety, Efficacy, and Future Advancements
Cole E, O’Sullivan SJ, Tik M, Williams NR.
A review of accelerated stimulation protocols, the clinical evidence and questions for future research.