OBJECTIVES The short-term effects of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the patients with catastrophic and intractable tinnitus were investigated. METHODS Fifteen participants were recruited among patients with catastrophic intractable tinnitus to receive 1 Hz rTMS treatment. Tinnitus severity was assessed before rTMS and directly after sham or real rTMS usin...

BACKGROUND Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve upper limb hemiparesis after stroke but the mechanism underlying its efficacy remains elusive. rTMS seems to alter brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and such effect is influenced by BDNF gene polymorphism. OBJECTIVES To investigate the molecular effects of rTMS on serum levels of BDNF, its precursor proBDNF and ...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease leading to dementia, which is characterized by progressive memory loss and other cognitive dysfunctions. Recent studies have attested that noninvasive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may help improve cognitive function in patients with AD. However, the majority of these studies have focused on the effects of hig...

Fluctuations of dopamine levels and upregulations of NR2B tyrosine phosphorylation in the striatum have been connected with levodopa (L-dopa)-induced dyskinesia (LID) in Parkinson's disease (PD). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is one of the noninvasive and potential method treating dyskinesia. Yet, the effect of rTMS on the above key pathological events remains unclear. In ...

1 Hz repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is considered to have an inhibitory effect in healthy people because it suppresses the excitability of the motor or visual cortex that is expressed as an increase in the motor or the phosphene threshold (PT), respectively. However, the underlying mechanisms and the brain structures involved in the action of rTMS are still unknown. In this...

It has recently become clear that alcohol addiction might be related to a brain dysfunction, in which a genetic background and environmental factors shape brain mechanisms involved with alcohol consumption. Craving, a major component determining relapses in alcohol abuse has been linked to abnormal activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulated cortex (dACC) and amygdala. We r...

OBJECTIVE A recent report indicates repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) improves sleep in Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of 10days rTMS on sleep parameters in PD patients. METHODS Double-blind, placebo-controlled design. Eighteen idiopathic PD patients completed the study. Sleep parameters were evaluated through actigraphy and the Park...

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique which modulates cortical excitability beyond the stimulation period. However, despite its clinical use rTMS-based therapies which prevent or reduce disabilities in a functionally significant and sustained manner are scarce. It remains unclear how rTMS-mediated changes in cortical excitability, whic...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE A single session of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over motor cortex had been reported to produce short term relief of some types of chronic pain. The present study investigated whether five consecutive days of rTMS would lead to longer lasting pain relief in unilateral chronic intractable neuropathic pain. PATIENTS AND METHODS Forty eight patient...

Despite the widespread use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in both research and clinical settings, there is a paucity of evidence regarding the effects of its application on neural activity. Studies investigating the effects of rTMS on human participants (Huang et al., 2005) have shown that patterned trains of rTMS can be used to modulate the sensitivity of motor pathways...