Recent advances of transcranial magnetic stimulation can provide new methods to elucidate the mechanism of higher brain function or cortical plasticity. For example, transcranial magnetic stimulation can produce transient disruption of the visual perception or modulation of cortical functions. Probably, the induced eddy current in the brain disturbs the information processing from external sign...

The influential notion that the hippocampus supports associative memory by interacting with functionally distinct and distributed brain regions has not been directly tested in humans. We therefore used targeted noninvasive electromagnetic stimulation to modulate human cortical-hippocampal networks and tested effects of this manipulation on memory. Multiple-session stimulation increased function...

Transcranial DC stimulation (tDCS) induces stimulation polarity-dependent neuroplastic excitability shifts in the human brain. Because it accomplishes long-lasting effects and its application is simple, it is used increasingly. However, one drawback is its low focality, caused by 1) the large stimulation electrode and 2) the functionally effective reference electrode, which is also situated on ...

BACKGROUND Stroke remains the leading cause for long-term motor impairment in the industrialized world. New techniques are needed to improve outcomes. OBJECTIVE To propose chronic electrical stimulation of the dentatothalamocortical pathway as a method for enhancing cortical excitability and improving motor recovery following stroke. METHOD In previous studies, motor evoked potentials were ...

Subjective tinnitus is the perception of a sound without any external source. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been examined as a treatment tool for chronic tinnitus for several years trying to target hyperactivity/abnormal synchronization within the auditory cortex putatively underlying the auditory phantom percept. However, its exact impact on auditory cortical activity...

Abstract Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive brain method for researching the functionality and clinical use. In general TMS procedure, motor threshold (MT) intensity optimal coil location ("hotspot") are searched manually. This is, however, time-consuming as several stimulations required to measure MT ensure that will be optimally positioned stimulating cortical target lo...

Abstract Brain stimulation has emerged as a novel therapy for ischemic stroke, major cause of brain injury that often results in lifelong disability. Although previous vitro and rodent studies have demonstrated neuroprotection using electrical or sensory acutely after few these been replicated humans due to significant scale anatomical differences, addition limited understanding stimulation-ind...

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) for many patients. The most effective stimulation consists of high-frequency biphasic stimulation pulses around 130 Hz delivered between two active sites of an implanted depth electrode to the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS). Multiple studies have shown that a key effect of STN-DBS that correlates well with clinica...

During behavioral quiescence, the neocortex generates spontaneous slow oscillations that consist of Up and Down states. Up states are short epochs of persistent activity that resemble the activated neocortex during arousal and cognition. Although Up states are generated within the cortex, the impact of extrinsic (thalamocortical) and intrinsic (intracortical) inputs on the persistent activity i...

Recent studies suggest that subthalamic nucleus (STN)-Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) may exert at least part of its therapeutic effect through the antidromic suppression of pathological oscillations in the cortex in 6-OHDA treated rats and in parkinsonian patients. STN-DBS may also activate STN neurons by initiating action potential propagation in the orthodromic direction, similarly resulting in...