The human brain undergoes structural and functional changes with age. These changes are influenced by biological determinants, pathological processes, sociodemographic, and economic factors. The complex interaction among some of these factors can lead to frailty and cognitive decline. Given the challenging projections of dementia prevalence worldwide, there is a need to develop interventions that can effectively modify these adverse brain trajectories to maximize the delay of their impact on quality of life. Non-invasive biophysical neuromodulation (NIBN), such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), has shown promise in modulating brain activity. Recent advances in EEG-based brain clock models allow precise quantification of the Brain Age Gap (BAG) in humans, that is, the discrepancy between the chronological age and the predicted brain age. This project aims to investigate the transcranial neuromodulation effects on human BAG and on the neural network oscillatory and arrhythmic dynamics.

This project advances the use of transcranial neuromodulation in brain aging research by integrating tES/TMS, 3D electromagnetic head models and normative brain clock models to quantify BAGs and characterize neural network dynamics. Our results offer preliminary evidence that anodal TMS is associated with brain age gap (BAG) reduction, warranting further research to assess putative therapeutic potential of transcranial neuromodulation to delay accelerated brain aging trajectories. These findings address the need for scalable and cost-effective interventions to support brain health in marginalized populations.