Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

It has been 30 years since the discovery that repeated electrical stimulation of neural pathways can lead to long-term potentiation in hippocampal slices. With its relevance to processes such as learning and memory, the technique has produced a vast literature on mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in animal models. To date, the most promising method for transferring these methods to humans is repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a noninvasive method of stimulating neural pathways in the brain of conscious subjects through the intact scalp. However, effects on synaptic plasticity reported are often weak, highly variable between individuals, and rarely last longer than 30 min. Here we describe a very rapid method of conditioning the human motor cortex using rTMS that produces a controllable, consistent, long-lasting, and powerful effect on motor cortex physiology and behavior after an application period of only 20-190 s.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.neuron.2004.12.033

Type

Journal article

Journal

Neuron

Publication Date

20/01/2005

Volume

45

Pages

201 - 206

Keywords

Adult, Conditioning (Psychology), Electric Stimulation Therapy, Hand, Humans, Magnetics, Middle Aged, Motor Cortex, Muscle, Skeletal, Neural Inhibition, Neuronal Plasticity, Pyramidal Tracts, Reaction Time, Synaptic Transmission, Theta Rhythm, Time Factors