image: Baseline excitability can predict regions of change following stimulation. Left panel: Single subject baseline excitability. Middle: Regions of change after 10Hz stimulation. Right: Example of brain dynamics during and after 10Hz stimulation (arrowhead). view more
Credit: Corey Keller
A study of epilepsy patients with implanted electrodes provides an unprecedented view of the changes in brain activity created by electrical stimulation. These findings, published in JNeurosci, have the potential to improve noninvasive stimulation approaches toward the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is increasingly used in patients with disorders such as depression that do not respond well to medication or psychotherapy. Although the effects of stimulation on the motor cortex have been characterized in animal models and humans, its effects on other brain areas -- including the prefrontal cortex, the target of rTMS in depression -- are unclear.
Corey Keller and colleagues mimicked rTMS of the prefrontal cortex in four epileptic patients who were previously implanted with brain electrodes to manage their condition. This allowed the researchers to study changes in the neural activity of specific regions with a resolution that is not possible with noninvasive brain stimulation and imaging. Comparing participants' brain excitability before and after the rTMS treatment, the team found that they were able to accurately predict which brain regions would be affected by the stimulation. This research could inform the development of individualized stimulation protocols.
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Article: Induction and quantification of excitability changes in human cortical networks
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1088-17.2018
Corresponding author: Corey Keller (Stanford University, CA, USA), ckeller1@stanford.edu
About JNeurosci
JNeurosci, the Society for Neuroscience's first journal, was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today, the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact, while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship.
About The Society for Neuroscience
The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 37,000 members in more than 90 countries and over 130 chapters worldwide.