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DSM staff profile

Dr Divya Bharatkumar Adhia

PositionResearch Fellow
DepartmentDepartment of Surgical Sciences (Dunedin)
QualificationsBPhty MPhty (Manual Therapy) PhD
Research summaryNeuromodulation for chronic pain, cognition, tinnitus, mood disorders, stroke
TeachingNEUR 453 Applied Human Neuroscience
Memberships
  • Associate Editor: Frontiers in Audiology
  • Infraslow Neurofeedback (ISF) Associates
  • Committee member for the Bachelor of Medical Sciences Honours Programme, Otago Medical School
  • Pain at Otago Research Theme
  • Otago Pain Mechanisms and Neuromodulation (OPaMeN)
  • BRAI3N Group: Brain Research consortium for Advanced Innovative and Interdisciplinary Neuromodulation
  • Brain Health and Research Centre (BHRC)
  • Brain Research New Zealand
  • Australasian Brain Stimulation Society
  • New Zealand Pain Society
  • Australian Pain Society
  • Graduate Women Otago
  • Indian Association of Physiotherapists

Research

I am an early career researcher with specific interests in the identification of cortical targets using electrical activity of the brain (Electroencephalography) and its treatment using non-invasive neuromodulation techniques, such as neurofeedback and transcranial electrical stimulation, in a variety of disorders with thalamocortical dysrhythmia including: chronic pain, mild cognitive Impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, tinnitus, anxiety, depression, and reward-deficiency syndromes.

Our Brai3n research group is an international research group that follows the same philosophy and has the same mission using functional imaging and neuromodulation to study how the brain works.

Visit the Brai3n website

Current projects

Chronic Pain

  1. Non-invasive neuromodulation (transcranial electrical stimulation and neurofeedback) for chronic low back pain, and fibromyalgia (Leading as PI) in collaboration with Professor Dirk De Ridder (Neurosurgery), Dr Ramakrishnan Mani (Physiotherapy), Professor John Reynolds (Anatomy) and Professor Sven Vanneste (University of Texas)
  2. Brain responses in individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain (Low back pain, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Fibromyalgia): Collaboration with Dr Mani, Professor De Ridder, and Dr Rajesh Katare (Physiology) as a co-PI

Alzheimer’s Disease

Effect of novel high-definition transcranial noise stimulation and theta-gamma stimulation in individuals with early Alzheimer’s disease: Leading as PI in collaboration with Professor Dirk De Ridder, Dr Nick Cutfield (Medicine), and Professor Sven Vanneste (University of Texas).

Tinnitus

Psychedelics and TES for treating functional connectivity problems in individuals with tinnitus: Leading as co-PI in collaboration with Professor De Ridder, Professor Paul Glue (Psychological Medicine), Associate Professor Bruce Russel (Pharmacy), Associate Professor Yiwen Zheng (Pharmacology), Professor Paul Smith (Pharmacology), Associate Professor Grant Searchfield (University of Auckland), and Professor Sven Vanneste (Trinity College Dublin).

Advance EEG analysis for pain, tinnitus, obesity, and depression

Using artificial intelligence techniques in collaboration with Associate Professor Zhiyi Huang (Computer Science), Associate Professor Jeremiah Deng (Information Sciences), Professor Dirk De Ridder, Professor Paul Glue, Professor Patrick Manning, and Dr Ramakrishnan Mani.

Depression / Internalizing disorders

TES for treating functional connectivity problems in individuals with depression: Collaboration with Professor De Ridder and Professor Glue as AI.

Neural correlates of love

Identification of EEG signature of love using hyperscanning techniques: Collaboration with Professor De Ridder, and Dr Marco Congedo (University of Grenoble-Alpes, Grenoble, France).

Stroke (ESTART trial)

Intermittent theta burst transcranial stimulation of motor cortex to augment rehabilitation: Collaboration with Professor Reynolds (Anatomy), Dr Cutfield (Medicine), Professor Hale (Physiotherapy) and Professor De Ridder and Professor Denise Taylor (Auckland University of Technology) as an AI.

Student supervision

PhD students:

  • Jerin Mathew: Neurofeedback intervention to modulate knee osteoarthritic pain experience
  • Tyson Perez: Infraslow neurofeedback for internalizing disorders
  • William Pitts: Exploring psychedelics for treatment of tinnitus

Masters’ students:

  • Sophie Smeele: Exploring novel neuromodulation techniques for treatment of tinnitus
  • Cindy van Sleeuwen: Neuromodulation for generalized anxiety disorder

Honors students:

  • Nathaniel Hutchinson-Wong: High-definition transcranial grey noise stimulation for treatment of major depressive disorder
  • Shivankar Nair: Exploring high-definition transcranial infraslow pink noise stimulation for treatment of early Alzheimer's disease
  • Lucy Anderson: Exploring novel neurofeedback technique for fibromyalgia

Summer students:

  • Angad Chauhan: Infraslow frequency brain activity and functional connectivity in Early Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Finn Whittington: Exploring high-definition multi-target stimulations for treatment of cognitive disorders

Additional details

Career achievements

2022

UORG, Exploring novel neurofeedback for chronic low back pain, $49,759 (co-PI)
HCO Charitable Trust, Neuromodulation for improving cognition, $29,300 (PI)
Dean’s Bequest fund, Novel network neuromodulation-cognition, $24,532 (PI)

2021

HRC Feasibility grant, Self-regulation training for people with knee osteoarthritis, $249,061 (AI)
BHRC, Philanthropy funding, Low back pain research, $560,000 (co-PI)
Lottery Health Research, Home-neuromodulation device, $49,039 (PI)
HCO Charitable Trust, Neuromodulation for depression, $29,854 (AI)
UORG, Brain stimulation in tinnitus, $47,873 (AI)
Brain Research NZ, Neuromodulation for Stroke, $75,027 (AI)
AMRF Jean Cathie Research Fund, Novel treatment for tinnitus, $74,803 (AI)

2020

HRC ERFG, Novel neuromodulation for chronic low back pain, $209,995 (PI)
BHRC, Trialling community-administered non-invasive burst stimulation to improve upper limb recovery following stroke, $209,995 (AI)

2019

UORG, Brain stimulation in early Alzheimer’s disease, $45,379 (PI)
Healthcare Otago Charitable Trust, Neuromodulation for pain, $27,083 (PI)
Dean’s Bequest Round, Neurofeedback for back pain, $20,311 (PI)
DSM Research Equipment, Purchase of high-density EEG, $49,240 (co-PI)

2018

University Teaching Development Grants, $9,413 (AI)

2002–2014

  • 2014 University of Otago Postgraduate Publishing Bursary Award, $7,500
  • 2011 University of Otago PhD Scholarship, $25,000/year for 3 years
  • 2010 University of Otago International Master’s Award, $13,000
  • 2008 Best Poster Award, All India Physiotherapy Conference, Mangalore, India
  • 2008 Best Outgoing Student, Bachelor of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal University, Karnataka, India
  • 2008 Distinction in Final year Bachelor of Physiotherapy University Examinations, Manipal University, Karnataka, India
  • 2007 First Rank and Distinction in Third year Bachelor of Physiotherapy, Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal University, Karnataka, India
  • 2005 Distinction in First year Bachelor of Physiotherapy University Examinations, Manipal University, Karnataka, India
  • 2004 Distinction in Higher Secondary Certificate Examination, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, Mumbai, India
  • 2002 Distinction in Secondary Certificate Examination, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher

Publications

Adhia, D. B., Mani, R., Mathew, J., O'Leary, F., Smith, M., Vanneste, S., & De Ridder, D. (2023). Exploring electroencephalographic infraslow neurofeedback treatment for chronic low back pain: A double-blinded safety and feasibility randomized placebo-controlled trial. Scientific Reports, 13, 1177. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-28344-2

Smeele, S. J., Adhia, D. B., & De Ridder, D. (2022). Feasibility and safety of high-definition infraslow pink noise stimulation for treating chronic tinnitus: A randomized placebo-controlled trial. Neuromodulation. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.neurom.2022.10.049

Perez, T. M., Glue, P., Adhia, D. B., Navid, M. S., Zeng, J., Dillingham, P., … Young, C. K., & De Ridder, D. (2022). Infraslow closed-loop brain training for anxiety and depression (ISAD): A protocol for a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled pilot trial in adult females with internalizing disorders. Trials, 23, 949. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06863-z

Mathew, J., Perez, T. M., Adhia, D. B., De Ridder, D., & Mani, R. (2022). Is there a difference in EEG characteristics in acute, chronic, and experimentally induced musculoskeletal pain states? A systematic review. Clinical EEG & Neuroscience. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/15500594221138292

Adhia, D. B., Mani, R., Turner, P. R., Vanneste, S., & de Ridder, D. (2022). Infraslow neurofeedback training alters effective connectivity in individuals with chronic low back pain: A secondary analysis of a pilot randomized placebo-controlled study. Brain Sciences, 12(11), 1514. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12111514

De Ridder, D., Adhia, D., & Langguth, B. (2021). Tinnitus and brain stimulation. In G. D. Searchfield & J. Zhang (Eds.), The behavioral neuroscience of tinnitus: Current topics in behavioral neurosciences (Vol. 51). (pp. 249-294). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/7854_2021_219

Chapter in Book - Research

De Ridder, D., Schlee, W., Vanneste, S., Londero, A., Weisz, N., Kleinjung, T., … Kleinstaeuber, M., … Zheng, Y., … Adhia, D. (2021). Tinnitus and tinnitus disorder: Theoretical and operational definitions (an international multidisciplinary proposal). In W. Schlee, B. Langguth, T. Kleinjung, S. Vanneste & D. De Ridder (Eds.), Tinnitus: An interdisciplinary approach towards individualized treatment: From heterogeneity to personalized medicine: Progress in brain research (Vol. 260). (pp. 1-25). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2020.12.002

Chapter in Book - Research

Li, J., Deng, J. D., Adhia, D., & de Ridder, D. (2021). Resting-state EEG sex classification using selected brain connectivity representation. In T. D. Pham, H. Yan, M. W. Ashraf & F. Sjöberg (Eds.), Advances in artificial intelligence, computation, and data science: For medicine and life science. (pp. 319-329). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-69951-2_13

Chapter in Book - Research

Adhia, D. B., Mani, R., Mathew, J., O'Leary, F., Smith, M., Vanneste, S., & De Ridder, D. (2023). Exploring electroencephalographic infraslow neurofeedback treatment for chronic low back pain: A double-blinded safety and feasibility randomized placebo-controlled trial. Scientific Reports, 13, 1177. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-28344-2

Journal - Research Article

Adhia, D. B., Mani, R., Reynolds, J. N. J., Hall, M., Vanneste, S., & De Ridder, D. (2022). High-definition transcranial infraslow pink-noise stimulation can influence functional and effective cortical connectivity in individuals with chronic low back pain: A pilot randomized placebo-controlled study. Neuromodulation. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.neurom.2022.08.450

Journal - Research Article

Adhia, D. B., Mani, R., Turner, P. R., Vanneste, S., & de Ridder, D. (2022). Infraslow neurofeedback training alters effective connectivity in individuals with chronic low back pain: A secondary analysis of a pilot randomized placebo-controlled study. Brain Sciences, 12(11), 1514. doi: 10.3390/brainsci12111514

Journal - Research Article

Mathew, J., Adhia, D. B., Smith, M. L., De Ridder, D., & Mani, R. (2022). Source localized infraslow neurofeedback training in people with chronic painful knee osteoarthritis: A randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled feasibility clinical trial. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16, 899772. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.899772

Journal - Research Article

Mathew, J., Perez, T. M., Adhia, D. B., De Ridder, D., & Mani, R. (2022). Is there a difference in EEG characteristics in acute, chronic, and experimentally induced musculoskeletal pain states? A systematic review. Clinical EEG & Neuroscience. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/15500594221138292

Journal - Research Article

Smeele, S. J., Adhia, D. B., & De Ridder, D. (2022). Feasibility and safety of high-definition infraslow pink noise stimulation for treating chronic tinnitus: A randomized placebo-controlled trial. Neuromodulation. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.neurom.2022.10.049

Journal - Research Article

Clay, L., Webb, M., Hargest, C., & Adhia, D. B. (2019). Gait quality and velocity influences activity tracker accuracy in individuals post-stroke. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 26(6), 412-417. doi: 10.1080/10749357.2019.1623474

Journal - Research Article

Mani, R., Adhia, D. B., Leong, S. L., Vanneste, S., & De Ridder, D. (2019). Sedentary behaviour facilitates conditioned pain modulation in middle-aged and older adults with persistent musculoskeletal pain: A cross-sectional investigation. PAIN Reports, 4, e773. doi: 10.1097/PR9.0000000000000773

Journal - Research Article

Tumilty, S., Adhia, D. B., Smoliga, J. M., & Gisselman, A. S. (2019). Thermal profiles over the Achilles tendon in a cohort of non-injured collegiate athletes over the course of a cross country season. Physical Therapy in Sport, 36, 110-115. doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2019.01.009

Journal - Research Article

Bussey, M. D., Aldabe, D., Adhia, D., & Mani, R. (2018). Reliability of surface electromyography activity of gluteal and hamstring muscles during sub-maximal and maximal voluntary isometric contractions. Musculoskeletal Science & Practice, 34, 103-107. doi: 10.1016/j.msksp.2017.09.004

Journal - Research Article

Hale, L. A., Smith, C. M., Mulligan, H. F., Adhia, D., Siew, B., & Treharne, G. J. (2018). Exploring the Blue Prescription intervention to promote physical activity in people with long-term conditions. International Journal of Therapy & Rehabilitation, 25(7), 365-376. doi: 10.12968/ijtr.2018.25.7.365

Journal - Research Article

Tumilty, S., Adhia, D. B., Rhodes, R., & Mani, R. (2017). Physiotherapists’ treatment techniques in New Zealand for management of acute nonspecific low back pain and its relationships with treatment outcomes: A pilot study. Physical Therapy Reviews, 22(1-2), 95-100. doi: 10.1080/10833196.2017.1282073

Journal - Research Article

Adhia, D. B., Mani, R., Milosavljevic, S., Tumilty, S., & Bussey, M. D. (2016). Does repeated palpation-digitization of pelvic landmarks for measurement of innominate motion introduce a systematic variation? A psychometric investigation. Manual Therapy, 21, 282-286. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2015.09.009

Journal - Research Article

Adhia, D. B., Milosavljevic, S., Tumilty, S., & Bussey, M. D. (2016). Innominate movement patterns, rotation trends and range of motion in individuals with low back pain of sacroiliac joint origin. Manual Therapy, 21, 100-108. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2015.06.004

Journal - Research Article

Adhia, D. B., Tumilty, S., Mani, R., Milosavljevic, S., & Bussey, M. D. (2016). Can hip abduction and external rotation discriminate sacroiliac joint pain? Manual Therapy, 21, 191-197. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2015.08.002

Journal - Research Article

Adhia, D. B., Tumilty, S., Mani, R., Milosavljevic, S., & Bussey, M. D. (2016). Innominate segment deformation during passive hip abduction and external rotation. Manual Therapy, 26, 235-237. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2016.06.004

Journal - Research Article

Adhia, D. B., Bussey, M. D., Mani, R., Jayakaran, P., Aldabe, D., & Milosavljevic, S. (2012). Inter-tester reliability of non-invasive technique for measurement of innominate motion. Manual Therapy, 17(1), 71-76. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2011.09.005

Journal - Research Article

Adhia, D. B., Bussey, M. D., Ribeiro, D. C., Tumilty, S., & Milosavljevic, S. (2012). Validity and reliability of palpation-digitization for non-invasive kinematic measurement: A systematic review. Manual Therapy, 18(1), 26-34. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2012.06.004

Journal - Research Article

Adhia, D. B., Mani, R., Reynolds, J. N. J., Vanneste, S., & De Ridder, D. (2022). High-definition transcranial infraslow pink noise stimulation for chronic low back pain: protocol for a pilot, safety and feasibility randomised placebo-controlled trial. BMJ Open, 12, e056842. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056842

Journal - Research Other

De Ridder, D., Vanneste, S., Smith, M., & Adhia, D. (2022). Pain and the triple network model. Frontiers in Neurology, 13, 757241. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.757241

Journal - Research Other

De Ridder, D., Vanneste, S., Song, J.-J., & Adhia, D. (2022). Tinnitus and the triple network model: A perspective. Clinical & Experimental Otorhinolaryngology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.21053/ceo.2022.00815

Journal - Research Other

Perez, T. M., Glue, P., Adhia, D. B., Navid, M. S., Zeng, J., Dillingham, P., … Young, C. K., & De Ridder, D. (2022). Infraslow closed-loop brain training for anxiety and depression (ISAD): A protocol for a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled pilot trial in adult females with internalizing disorders. Trials, 23, 949. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06863-z

Journal - Research Other

Perez, T. M., Mathew, J., Glue, P., Adhia, D. B., & De Ridder, D. (2022). Is there evidence for the specificity of closed-loop brain training in the treatment of internalizing disorders? A systematic review. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16, 821136. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.821136

Journal - Research Other

De Ridder, D., Adhia, D., & Vanneste, S. (2021). The anatomy of pain and suffering in the brain and its clinical implications. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 130, 125-146. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.08.013

Journal - Research Other

Perez, T. M., Glue, P., Adhia, D. B., Mathew, J., & De Ridder, D. (2021). Is there evidence for EEG-neurofeedback specificity in the treatment of internalizing disorders? A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. NeuroRegulation, 8(1), 22-28. doi: 10.15540/nr.8.1.22

Journal - Research Other

Mathew, J., Adhia, D. B., Smith, M. L., De Ridder, D., & Mani, R. (2020). Protocol for a pilot randomized sham-controlled clinical trial evaluating the feasibility, safety, and acceptability of infraslow electroencephalography neurofeedback training on experimental and clinical pain outcomes in people with chronic painful knee. NeuroRegulation, 7(1), 30-44. doi: 10.15540/nr.7.1.30

Journal - Research Other

Bussey, M. D., Milosavljevic, S., & Adhia, D. (2012). [Response to letter to the editor: Innominate 3D motion modeling: Biomechanically interesting, but clinically irrelevant]. Manual Therapy, 17(5), e13. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2012.04.004

Journal - Research Other

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