0000000000161138
AUTHOR
Paolo Belardinelli
Alpha-Synchronized Stimulation of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) in Major Depression: A Proof-of-Principle EEG-TMS Study
High-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) shows therapeutic potential in pharmaco-resistant patients with major depression. However, clinical efficacy is limited by high inter-individual variability and low response rates. One possible strategy to improve the effect size and consistency may be brain state dependent brain stimulation, i.e. coupling of TMS pulses to the endogenous brain states as reflected by the instantaneous oscillatory brain activity. Here we present findings from a proof-of-principle study of alpha-oscillation synchronized brain stimulation of the frontal cortex in patients with major depression (…
TMS-EEG signatures of glutamatergic neurotransmission in human cortex
AbstractNeuronal activity in the brain is regulated by an excitation-inhibition balance. Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) evoked electroencephalographic (EEG) potentials (TEPs) represent a novel way to quantify pharmacological effects on neuronal activity in the human cortex. Here we tested TEPs under the influence of a single oral dose of two anti-glutamatergic drugs, perampanel, an AMPA-receptor antagonist, and dextromethorphan, an NMDA-receptor antagonist, and nimodipine, an L-type voltage-gated calcium channel blocker in 16 healthy adults in a pseudorandomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover design. Single-pulse TM…
Musical Sonification of Arm Movements in Stroke Rehabilitation Yields Limited Benefits.
Neurologic music therapy in rehabilitation of stroke patients has been shown to be a promising supplement to the often strenuous conventional rehabilitation strategies. The aim of this study was threefold: (i) replicate results from a previous study with a sample from one clinic (henceforth called Site 1; N = 12) using an already established recording system, and (ii) conceptually replicate previous findings with a less costly hand-tracking system in Site 2 (N = 30), and (iii) compare both sub-studies' outcomes to estimate the efficiency of neurologic music therapy. Stroke patients in both sites were randomly assigned to treatment or control groups and received daily training of guided sequ…