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The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on cortical inhibition in healthy human subjects

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Abstract

It has been suggested that the therapeutic effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are mediated through changes in cortical inhibition (CI). However, in healthy human subjects the effects of rTMS on CI have been inconsistent. Therefore, this study sought to improve on the methodological limitations of previous studies by exploring several different rTMS-stimulus conditions on inhibition in the human motor cortex. In the first experiment, 12 healthy control subjects were randomly assigned to receive regular 1, 10 or 20 Hz rTMS in a counterbalanced order with sessions separated by at least 1 week. In the second experiment, 10 of these 12 subjects received priming rTMS (600 stimuli at 6 Hz followed by 600 stimuli at 1 Hz). Cortical inhibition was indexed using short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and cortical silent period (CSP). Corticospinal excitability was indexed using motor threshold and MEP amplitude. We found no significant overall change in SICI, although there was a significant correlation between changes in SICI with baseline SICI. Subjects with greater SICI at baseline tended to have reduction in SICI post-rTMS, whereas subjects with less SICI tended to have increase in SICI post-rTMS. There was also a significant lengthening of the CSP with higher stimulation frequencies compared to lower stimulation frequencies. These findings suggest that rTMS increases CI, particularly in subjects with reduced baseline inhibition, a finding consistent with the concept of homeostatic plasticity. Baseline physiological characteristics may be further explored as a method to select patients who may benefit from rTMS treatment.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of all volunteers, whose participation was essential in the successful completion of the study. Grants: this work was funded, in part, by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (grant no. MOP 62917 to RC), CIHR Clinician Scientist Award (ZJD), by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Practitioner Fellowship (PBF) and by Constance and Stephen Lieber through a National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) Lieber Young Investigator award (ZJD, PBF), and the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation (BM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Zafiris J. Daskalakis, Bertram Möller & Bruce K. Christensen

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Ernst Moritz Arndt Universität Greifswald, Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

    Bertram Möller

  3. Department of Psychological Medicine, Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, The Alfred and Monash University, Commercial Road, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Paul B. Fitzgerald

  4. Division of Neurology and Toronto Western Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Carolyn Gunraj & Robert Chen

  5. Toronto Western Hospital, 7MC-411, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5T 2S8

    Robert Chen

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  1. Zafiris J. Daskalakis
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  2. Bertram Möller
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  3. Bruce K. Christensen
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  4. Paul B. Fitzgerald
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  5. Carolyn Gunraj
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  6. Robert Chen
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Correspondence to Robert Chen.

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Daskalakis, Z.J., Möller, B., Christensen, B.K. et al. The effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on cortical inhibition in healthy human subjects. Exp Brain Res 174, 403–412 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0472-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0472-0

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