Paired-Pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Protocols

Transcranial magnetic stimulation applied in a paired-pulse sequence (ppTMS) provides a noninvasive method to evaluate the excitability of corticocortical connections. It is most commonly used to interrogate motor cortical pathways, but literature has also demonstrated its applicability in non-motor cortical regions. Commonly used protocols include short-interval intracortical inhibition, long-interval intracortical inhibition, intracortical facilitation, and short-interval intracortical facilitation. The similarities among these protocols allow for the implementation of multiple measures within a given study. This provides a much greater breadth of data collection compared to traditional single-pulse TMS studies. Although the mechanisms of these circuits of inhibition or facilitation remain only partially understood, their reproducibility has encouraged their widespread use in the TMS community. Additional methods of paired-pulse stimulation include interhemispheric and interregional ppTMS such as via peripheral nerve or cerebellar stimulation. More newly developed techniques have incorporated the use of real-time EEG to further develop its applications beyond motor cortical regions. ppTMS has found exciting applications in various neuropathologies, especially in the fields of epilepsy and stroke, as a means of individualized prognostic and therapeutic optimization. In the field of neurophysiology, ppTMS has a bright future.

Source: Springer protocols feed by Neuroscience - May 22, 2014 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: news