Non-invasive brain stimulation as a causal tool to map and modulate hippocampal–cortical circuits

Recent research has shown that non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in particular, can modulate core memory processes, including encoding, consolidation, and retrieval, across domains, such as episodic, spatial, associative, and working memory. Critically, stimulation of cortical nodes that are functionally connected to the hippocampus, such as prefrontal, parietal, and temporal regions, and, more recently, the cerebellum, can influence activity within distributed memory networks.These findings open new opportunities to probe hippocampal-dependent processes through causal manipulation of cortical–hippocampal circuits.In this context, TMS, together with complementary NIBS approaches such as transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) and transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS), is increasingly emerging not primarily as a neuromodulatory intervention, but as a causal systems neuroscience tool for mapping the neural architecture supporting hippocampal-dependent processes.By transiently perturbing specific nodes within these networks (hippocampal-cortical), NIBS, enables direct testing of how distributed circuits support memory formation, consolidation, and retrieval, providing an experimental bridge between human and animal models.Yet key mechanistic questions remain: how stimulation parameters shape network responses, how timing interacts with distinct memory phases, and how perturbations propagate across hippocampal-cortical systems. Addressing these is essential to establish NIBS as a precise tool for mapping memory circuits and interpreting its behavioral effects.This Research Topic brings together studies using TMS as the principal focal tool, alongside tES and tFUS, to map and model hippocampal-cortical circuits in learning and memory, and to evaluate how mechanistic insights translate into personalized, network-targeted interventions in conditions where hippocampal–cortical dysfunction is central.We welcome submissions across human and animal addressing, but not limited to the following:- Causal mapping of hippocampal–cortical circuits using TMS and other NIBS approaches.- Network-targeted stimulation of hippocampal-connected cortical regions: circuit-specific effects on memory processing.- Causal interrogation of encoding, consolidation, and retrieval using temporally specific NIBS perturbations.- Timing-dependent stimulation effects: dissociating phase-specific mechanisms of memory formation and consolidation.- NIBS-induced modulation of hippocampal–cortical connectivity and its links to episodic, spatial, associative, and working memory.- Stimulation-driven plasticity in memory circuits: mechanisms of network reorganization and their behavioral consequences.- Multimodal NIBS approaches: integrating neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and behavior.- Causal probing of memory impairments using NIBS: circuit-level disruptions in neurological or psychiatric conditions.- Cerebellar stimulation (rTMS, tcDCS) as a route to modulate cortico-hippocampal activity and memory: extending the network beyond DLPFC, PPC, and MPFC- Network-targeted stimulation of hippocampal-dependent memory in subjective cognitive decline, MCI, and Alzheimer’s disease: from mechanism to personalized intervention.- Stimulation of sleep-dependent hippocampal memory consolidation in insomnia: refining targeting, timing, and protocols.- Targeting the anterior (ventral, in rodents) hippocampus in major depressive disorder: stimulation effects on affectively biased memory, contextual encoding, and emotional regulation.- Stimulation of hippocampal hyperactivity in psychosis and clinical high-risk states: implications for pattern separation, episodic memory, and translational outlook.- Deep-targeting modalities (e.g., tFUS) as a complement to TMS-based network approaches for direct hippocampal stimulation: methodological advances and convergent validation.By integrating cognitive, systems, and clinical neuroscience, this Research Topic aims to advance understanding of how NIBS, with TMS as the primary causal probe, can both probe and modulate the mechanisms underlying learning and memory, and to outline a path toward personalized, network-targeted applications in disorders of hippocampal–cortical function. Topic editors: Candela Zorzo, Georgios P. D. Argyropoulos Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80510/non-invasive-brain-stimulation-as-a-causal-tool-to-map-and-modulate-hippocampal-cortical-circuits