scholarly journals Putting the Brain on the Map: Use of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to Assess and Induce Cortical Plasticity of Upper-Extremity Movement

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 719-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J Butler ◽  
Steven L Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Cortical Plasticity ◽  
Physical Therapists ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Childhood Development ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Human Nervous System

The plasticity of the brain is an increasingly important topic for physical therapists interested in childhood development, learning, and repair following injury. The study of plasticity directly in the human nervous system presents numerous challenges, such as the ability to assess neuronal function in vivo because of physical impediments, such as the skull, skin, and dura. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), however, has become a suitable, noninvasive, and painless technique that can be applied to detect changes in cortical excitability as an indicator of neurological changes. Furthermore, repetitive trains of TMS themselves can induce plasticity. This article discusses the use of TMS to investigate and manipulate plasticity in the human nervous system.

scholarly journals Evaluation and Treatment of Vascular Cognitive Impairment by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Mariagiovanna Cantone ◽  
Giuseppe Lanza ◽  
Francesco Fisicaro ◽  
Manuela Pennisi ◽  
Rita Bella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Synaptic Plasticity ◽  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Disease Process ◽  
Vascular Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Disease Modifying Drugs

The exact relationship between cognitive functioning, cortical excitability, and synaptic plasticity in dementia is not completely understood. Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is deemed to be the most common cognitive disorder in the elderly since it encompasses any degree of vascular-based cognitive decline. In different cognitive disorders, including VCI, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be exploited as a noninvasive tool able to evaluate in vivo the cortical excitability, the propension to undergo neural plastic phenomena, and the underlying transmission pathways. Overall, TMS in VCI revealed enhanced cortical excitability and synaptic plasticity that seem to correlate with the disease process and progression. In some patients, such plasticity may be considered as an adaptive response to disease progression, thus allowing the preservation of motor programming and execution. Recent findings also point out the possibility to employ TMS to predict cognitive deterioration in the so-called “brains at risk” for dementia, which may be those patients who benefit more of disease-modifying drugs and rehabilitative or neuromodulatory approaches, such as those based on repetitive TMS (rTMS). Finally, TMS can be exploited to select the responders to specific drugs in the attempt to maximize the response and to restore maladaptive plasticity. While no single TMS index owns enough specificity, a panel of TMS-derived measures can support VCI diagnosis and identify early markers of progression into dementia. This work reviews all TMS and rTMS studies on VCI. The aim is to evaluate how cortical excitability, plasticity, and connectivity interact in the pathophysiology of the impairment and to provide a translational perspective towards novel treatments of these patients. Current pitfalls and limitations of both studies and techniques are also discussed, together with possible solutions and future research agenda.

scholarly journals Assessment of Cortical Plasticity in Schizophrenia by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Turki Abualait ◽  
Sultan Alzahrani ◽  
Ahmed AlOthman ◽  
Fahad Abdulah Alhargan ◽  
Nouf Altwaijri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Cortical Plasticity ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Molecular Genetic ◽  
Cortical Networks ◽  
Noninvasive Brain Stimulation ◽  
Pathophysiological Mechanisms ◽  
Cortical Dysfunction

Neural plasticity refers to the capability of the brain to modify its structure and/or function and organization in response to a changing environment. Evidence shows that disruption of neuronal plasticity and altered functional connectivity between distinct brain networks contribute significantly to the pathophysiological mechanisms of schizophrenia. Transcranial magnetic stimulation has emerged as a noninvasive brain stimulation tool that can be utilized to investigate cortical excitability with the aim of probing neural plasticity mechanisms. In particular, in pathological disorders, such as schizophrenia, cortical dysfunction, such as an aberrant excitatory-inhibitory balance in cortical networks, altered cortical connectivity, and impairment of critical period timing are very important to be studied using different TMS paradigms. Studying such neurophysiological characteristics and plastic changes would help in elucidating different aspects of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying schizophrenia. This review attempts to summarize the findings of available TMS studies with diagnostic and characterization aims, but not with therapeutic purposes, in schizophrenia. Findings provide further evidence of aberrant excitatory-inhibitory balance in cortical networks, mediated by neurotransmitter pathways such as the glutamate and GABA systems. Future studies with combining techniques, for instance, TMS with brain imaging or molecular genetic typing, would shed light on the characteristics and predictors of schizophrenia.

Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as a Treatment for Psychiatric Disorders: A Comprehensive Review

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.S. Bersani ◽  
A. Minichino ◽  
P.G. Enticott ◽  
L. Mazzarini ◽  
N. Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Electromagnetic Induction ◽  
Magnetic Stimulation ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Bipolar Depression ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Brain

AbstractDeep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a technique of neuromodulation and neurostimulation based on the principle of electromagnetic induction of an electric field in the brain. The coil (H-coil) used in deep TMS is able to modulate cortical excitability up to a maximum depth of 6 cm and is therefore able not only to modulate the activity of the cerebral cortex but also the activity of deeper neural circuits. Deep TMS is largely used for the treatment of drug-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD) and is being tested to treat a very wide range of neurological, psychiatric and medical conditions. The aim of this review is to illustrate the biophysical principles of deep TMS, to explain the pathophysiological basis for its utilization in each psychiatric disorder (major depression, autism, bipolar depression, auditory hallucinations, negative symptoms of schizophrenia), to summarize the results presented thus far in the international scientific literature regarding the use of deep TMS in psychiatry, its side effects and its effects on cognitive functions.

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