Summary
A bioRxiv preprint introduces NANHA, a searchable atlas of published non-invasive brain-stimulation studies spanning 22 neurodevelopmental disorders.
Researchers have introduced NANHA, a manually curated and harmonised database of published studies using non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) in neurodevelopmental disorders. The resource is described in a bioRxiv preprint posted on 18 September 2026.
The database was assembled through systematic PubMed searches covering 22 neurodevelopmental disorders and five NIBS modalities. Its accompanying web platform provides searchable and downloadable records, filtering tools and interactive visualisations.
NIBS refers to techniques that influence brain activity without surgical access to the brain. Such methods are used to investigate brain function and to explore possible therapeutic interventions. NANHA’s contribution is to organise the scattered research literature into a common structure for comparison.
What NANHA records
The resource brings together information about participant characteristics, study design, the purpose of stimulation, stimulation parameters and the brain regions targeted. It also records behavioural, cognitive and neurophysiological outcomes, along with safety information and follow-up assessments when those details are available in the underlying studies.
This structure is intended to make studies easier to examine across different disorders and stimulation approaches. A researcher can use the platform’s filters and visualisations to explore how studies differ in their participants, targets, stimulation settings and reported outcomes. The source describes NANHA as freely accessible and downloadable through its web interface.
Why a harmonised evidence map matters
Research on NIBS in neurodevelopmental disorders has been distributed across different diagnoses, stimulation modalities, target regions and experimental designs. That fragmentation makes it difficult to compare findings or identify areas where evidence is limited. By using consistent fields for studies that were originally reported in different formats, NANHA is designed to support evidence synthesis and comparative analysis.
The authors also identify several uses for the resource: locating research gaps, examining patterns across disorders and helping with the development of disease-specific stimulation protocols. These functions make NANHA research infrastructure rather than a report of a new stimulation experiment or a single clinical result.
The work is presented as a bioRxiv preprint. Its central output is the database and web platform, while the records summarise the published NIBS literature. Because information is included when available, the level of detail may vary between records, particularly for safety and follow-up measures. The source also describes NANHA as a tool for organising and analysing evidence, not as clinical guidance or evidence of effectiveness for any particular stimulation protocol.