Functional Connectivity and Neuromodulation: Bridging Brain Circuits, Stimulation, and Clinical Outcomes

The brain's capacity to orchestrate complex behavior rests on the dynamic interplay of distributed neural networks. Functional connectivity — the statistical coherence of activity across spatially distinct regions — has emerged as a powerful lens through which we can map these networks, track how they are disrupted in disease, and, crucially, understand how they respond to intervention.Neuromodulation techniques, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), focused ultrasound, and closed-loop neurostimulation systems, offer unprecedented opportunities to interrogate and reshape connectivity patterns in both health and disease. Yet a fundamental gap remains: translating mechanistic insights about circuit-level plasticity into predictable, durable clinical benefits.This Research Topic brings together investigators working at the intersection of systems neuroscience, neuroimaging, computational modeling, and clinical medicine to address that gap. We welcome contributions that elucidate how neuromodulation alters functional connectivity at the local, regional, and whole-brain network levels; how pre-intervention connectivity profiles can serve as biomarkers to stratify patients and optimize stimulation parameters; and how real-time connectivity feedback can guide adaptive stimulation protocols.Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:- Resting-state and task-based fMRI, EEG, and MEG measures of connectivity before, during, and after neuromodulation- Graph-theoretic and dynamic systems approaches to characterizing network reorganization- Connectivity-informed targeting for invasive and non-invasive stimulation- Closed-loop systems leveraging connectivity biomarkers for adaptive stimulation- Clinical applications in neurological and psychiatric conditions, including treatment-resistant depression, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, chronic pain, stroke rehabilitation, and disorders of consciousness- Computational and predictive models linking stimulation parameters to network-level outcomes- Multi-modal approaches integrating neuroimaging, neurophysiology, and behavioral measuresBy uniting mechanistic and translational perspectives, this Research Topic aims to accelerate the development of principled, connectivity-guided neuromodulation therapies — moving the field from empirical parameter selection toward precision neurostimulation grounded in individual brain circuit architecture. Topic editors: Wei Fan, Jiajia Yang, Ting Fu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84985/functional-connectivity-and-neuromodulation-bridging-brain-circuits-stimulation-and-clinical-outcomes