The Brain Stimulation Journal:
Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation Feed. This feed contains the latest published articles, both articles that have been published in an issue as well as articles that have been published as Articles in Press.
- Letter to the Editor: Thalamic deep brain stimulation may relieve breathlessness in COPDThe cerebral mechanisms of dyspnoea (breathlessness) are not well understood. Neuroimaging studies of experimentally induced dyspnoea in healthy individuals have identified several cortical areas that might form a neural network for perception of dyspnoea[1], much like those identified for pain perception[2]. However, functional imaging studies alone do not reveal neurophysiological pathways and may miss putative targets for dyspnoea relief. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) of four different brain nuclei on the sensation of dyspnoea in an individual with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) using an established multidimensional dyspnoea tool[3]. ... read more4 months ago
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation as a Strategy to Augment Auditory RehabilitationMany individuals with auditory processing disorders undergo expensive, time-consuming behavioral interventions that often yield only modest improvements. The development of adjunctive interventions that can increase the benefit of rehabilitation therapies is necessary. Previous studies have shown that pairing a specific sound with neuromodulator release results in an expansion of the primary auditory cortex (A1) region that responds to the paired sound. For example, pairing a 9 kHz tone with vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) expands the A1 region that responds to 9 kHz. ... read more4 months ago
- Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation for the prevention/treatment of comorbid mild traumatic brain injury and PTSDRepetitive mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI/concussion) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been called the "signature injuries" of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and are major sources of morbidity, but diagnoses and treatment options are limited. Blast exposure is the primary source of mTBI and gives rise to a multi-factorial behavioral and pathophysiological syndrome highly comorbid with PTSD. We have previously reported increased PTSD, disinhibition, risky drinking (alcohol), and irritability symptoms by blast-mTBI Veterans. ... read more4 months ago
- Modulation of SSVEPs using frequency matched tACSAn increasing number of studies have demonstrated frequency specific effects of tACS in humans, and these effects are thought to be due to the frequency of the stimulation being close enough to the oscillating neural activity that entrainment or resonance can occur; the maximal effect is predicted to be when the frequency of the neuronal oscillation and the stimulation are closely matched. ... read more4 months ago
- Abstract #1: Individualizing HD-tDCS With fMRI and E-Field Modeling: Pilot Data from the NAVIGATE-TBI StudyAbstract: Individualizing HD-tDCS With fMRI and E-Field Modeling: The NAVIGATE-TBI Study (Neuromodulation of Auditory, VIsual, and Generalized AbnormaliTiEs in Complex TBI) ... read more4 months ago
- TMS-EEG approach unveils brain mechanisms underlying conscious and unconscious face perceptionPerception of external stimuli has been related to recurrent activity in distributed cortical networks, although brain mechanisms for unconscious processing and stimuli access to conscious report need to be clarified. This study aims at investigating modulations in cortical excitability related to unconscious processing and conscious perception of face stimuli. We used TMS-EEG over the right occipital face area (rOFA) to measure cortical excitability during a backward masking paradigm with individually defined stimuli visibility. ... read more4 months ago
- Realistic sham TMSMedical studies often require a randomized, parallel or crossover design, and comparison of any active treatment with a placebo one. This is especially actual when the outcome assessment is based on subjective parameters as is typically the case in studies on antidepressant or analgesic effects of rTMS. The ideal placebo rTMS should fulfill a number of criteria: (i) the position of the active and placebo coils over the scalp should be the same; (ii) the subjective somatic scalp sensation and the acoustic artifacts during stimulation should also be the same for active and sham coils, but (iii) no physiological effect ... read more4 months ago
- Motor cortex plasticity induced by beta transcranial alternating current stimulationTranscranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) modulates neural oscillatiory activity and excitability in the primary motor cortex (M1). Previous studies have found that these effects can last for more than an hour and an involvement of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) mediated synaptic plasticity has been suggested. However, the cortical mechanisms underlying tACS after-effects are not fully understood. In the present study 20 Hz beta tACS was applied to M1 after participants received either an NMDAR antagonist (dextromethorphan) or a placebo and the effects on cortical beta oscillations and excitability were explored. ... read more4 months ago
- The relationship between short interval intra-cortical inhibition and stopping abilityShort interval intra-cortical inhibition (SICI), measured using paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is believed to reflect the activity of GABAergic interneurons in the motor cortex. In this project, we investigated the relationship between SICI and the ability to inhibit a prepotent response. In our first study (n = 40), we measured SICI at rest, and investigated response inhibition using the stop signal task, which provides a measure of the latency of an individual’s stopping process. ... read more4 months ago
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation for diplopia in a patient with spinocerebellar ataxia type 6: a case reportA 62-year-old Japanese male with spinocerebellar ataxia type 6(SCA6) was admitted to our hospital for exacerbation of ataxia. We administered single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the hand motor area (40 single pulses, about 0.3Hz at 100% of RMT) and over the cerebellum (20 single pulses, about 0.5Hz at 50% of RMT) with a circular coil once a day for one session, and for five sessions a week for 2 weeks (10 sessions). This therapy was performed for 2 courses, separated by a rest period of about 2 weeks (total 20 sessions) to reduce ataxia. ... read more4 months ago
- Probing brain networks to quantify the consciousness level: which role for ELF brain stimulation?The diagnosis of patients suffering from disorders of consciousness (DOC) presents numerous clinical challenges, since clinical and neuroimaging data can be inconclusive. Among the diagnostic tools developed to tackle this issue, the use of brain stimulation within the ELF range (< 300 Hz) and its associated neurophysiological responses is being explored. In the first part of this talk, we will review the available techniques based on magnetic stimulation in the ELF range, and their clinical contributions in terms of improving the diagnosis of DOC patients. ... read more4 months ago
- Comparison of effect of a single-session of high- or low-frequency rTMS on cortical excitability in people with Parkinson’s disease – A randomised placebo controlled trialObjectives: To compare the effect of a single-session high- or low-frequency rTMS on cortical excitability in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). ... read more4 months ago
- Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for depression in pregnancy: a pilot randomized controlled trialBackground: Depression in pregnancy may adversely affect maternal and child outcomes. Antidepressants are the main treatment option for moderate and severe depression, but may pose risks to the developing fetus. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation treatment for depression, has not been evaluated in pregnancy. We aimed to assess the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial of tDCS for the treatment of depression in pregnancy. ... read more4 months ago
- Impact of concurrent task performance on transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)-induced changes in cortical physiology and working memoryBackground: tDCS provides a means of non-invasively inducing plasticity-related changes in neural circuits in vivo and is currently experiencing increasing use as a potential tool for modulating a number of cognitive processes. As tDCS exerts its effects via sub-threshold alterations in ongoing neural activity, outcomes are likely to be contingent on an individual’s brain state at the time of stimulation. Here we aimed to assess the neurophysiological and behavioural impact of applying stimulation at rest versus during active engagement in a cognitive task. ... read more4 months ago
- Phase-specific aftereffects of transcranial alternating current stimulation on visual processingOscillatory neural activity has been assigned a functional role in various cognitive processes and neuropathologies. The direct modulation of brain oscillations by transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) offers the unique opportunity to probe their causal relevance for cognition. Critically, the assumption of phase-specific modulation of neural activity by tACS is an important prerequisite but still open to debate. Here, we investigated the phase-specificity of immediate tACS aftereffects on stimulus-driven oscillatory responses, namely steady state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP). ... read more4 months ago
- The N100 TEP as a neural predictor of motor learning: A TMS-EEG studyIntroduction: Neural predictors of motor learning have been previously investigated using electroencephalography (EEG). This study employed simultaneous transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with EEG to test whether cortical excitability measured at rest prior to a robot-mediated motor adaptation (MA) task can predict the degree of motor learning. ... read more4 months ago
- A systematic review on the effects of non-invasive neuromodulation on executive and other cognitive functions in addictive disordersIn order to improve the current treatment of addictive disorders, noninvasive neuromodulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a brain area crucially involved in executive functioning (EF), has gained attention. EF is impaired in addictive disorders, hence non-invasive stimulation of the DLPFC may lead to changes in EF and thereby improved treatment outcomes. An overview of the effects of non-invasive neuromodulation on EF in addictive disorders will be provided in this review. The current review is conducted and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses for Protocols 2015 (PRISMA-P 2015) guidelines. ... read more4 months ago