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Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 470 9337
Email
dirk.deridder@otago.ac.nz
Position
Professor of Neurosurgery
Department
Department of Surgery and Critical Care (Dunedin)
Qualifications
MD PhD
Research summary
Functional imaging guided invasive and non-invasive neuromodulation of phantom percepts and psychological disorders
Clinical

Skull base surgery (vestibular schwannomas, pituitary surgery), microvascular decompression surgery

Research

My research is centered on a Darwinian predictive brain model with Bayesian updating to adapt to an ever changing environment. This model is the basis to understand common pathophysiological mechanisms clustering groups of pathologies, such as thalamocortical dysrhythmias (pain, tinnitus, epilepsy, depression, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia) or obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder (addiction, OCD, eating disorders,...).

This pathophysiological clustering permits to translate knowledge obtained from one disease to other diseases with similar underlying mechanisms, and to develop novel neuromodulation treatments based on it.

Our clinical neuromodulation research is based on the following concept:

  1. All aspects of human normal and pathological behaviour are based on brain activity and connectivity
  2. This activity and connectivity can be visualised by functional imaging techniques (PET, fMRI, EEG, MEG)
  3. Non-invasive neuromodulation techniques (TMS, tDCS, tRNS, tACS, EEGfeedback) can be used to modulate the abnormal activity and connectivity
  4. If this exerts a clinical benefit a permanent electrode can be implanted on the areas that yield clinical benefit with non-invasive techniques.

A third line of scientific interests focuses on the neural correlates of the 'self', how the self is generated in the brain (out of body experiences), its relation to the environment (perception and phantom perception), to others (morality and its pathologies) and god (religion).

Worldwide top ranking in Tinnitus expertise

Professor De Ridder has been ranked top-rated expert worldwide for expertise in Tinnitus as reported in Expertscape Inc:
expertscape.com website

Additional details

Most of my research starts with a philosophical account, predominantly based on Aristotelian thinking.

Publications

Bialostocki, L. S., Adhia, D. B., Rathnayake, D., Smith, M. L., Cakmak, Y. O., De Ridder, D., Mani, R., & Mathew, J. (2026). Associations between cortical dynamics and pain outcomes following infraslow neurofeedback training in individuals with neuropathic pain-like features. In A. Banstola (Ed.), Proceedings of the 42nd International Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research (AWCBR). 42, 12.4, (pp. 66). Retrieved from https://www.awcbr.org Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Bialostocki, L., Adhia, D. B., Rathnayake, D., Smith, M. L., Cakmak, Y. O., De Ridder, D., Mani, R., & Mathew, J. (2026). EEG-neurofeedback training for chronic secondary musculoskeletal pain with neuropathic pain qualities: A single-arm, open-label pilot feasibility study. Proceedings of the 22nd Congress of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists (IFAA): Anatomy for Everyone. (pp. 362). Retrieved from https://ifaa2026.org/en-AU Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Deng, B., Adhia, D. B., van Sleeuwen, C., Mansell, I., & De Ridder, D. (2026). Sound-paired vagus nerve stimulation for tinnitus: A safety and feasibility trial. Neuromodulation. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.neurom.2026.08.002 Journal - Research Article

Vanneste, S., Ost, J., & De Ridder, D. (2026). Sequential multimodal neuromodulation for treatment-resistant PTSD: A case report of lasting remission. Psychiatry Research Case Reports. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.psycr.2026.100344 Journal - Research Other

De Ridder, D., Kleinjung, T., Song, J.-J., Adhia, D., Hall, M., Yasoda-Mohan, A., … Langguth, B. (2026). Tinnitus and tinnitus disorder: Genetic, neurobiological, and clinical differentiation. iScience, 29(6), 116080. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2026.116080 Journal - Research Article

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