{"title":"Enhanced cortical facilitation after intermittent theta burst stimulation with increased stimulation intensity","authors":"Francisco Benavides , Robert Chen , Hang Jin Jo","doi":"10.1016/j.clinph.2025.2111382","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) can modulate the neuronal activity in the primary motor cortex. However, the responsiveness to the protocol shows high inter-individual variability which remains not fully understood. This study investigated whether responsiveness to iTBS depends on stimulation intensity.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We conducted a sham-controlled, single-blinded experiment. Sixteen healthy volunteers participated in three sessions: iTBS at 80% of the active motor threshold (80%AMT), iTBS at 80% of the resting motor threshold (80%RMT), and a sham iTBS. Stimulation was applied to the hand representation of the primary motor cortex. The aftereffects of iTBS were assessed by changes in the amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) measured in posterior-anterior (PA) and anterior-posterior (AP) coil orientations to understand if there is differential effect in cortical networks.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Our results showed significant facilitation of both PA and AP MEPs following iTBS at 80%RMT but not after iTBS at 80%AMT or sham stimulation. Additionally, the number of responders was greater following iTBS at 80%RMT compared to iTBS at 80%AMT.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Our results suggest that higher intensity iTBS may more effectively increase cortical excitability.</div></div><div><h3>Significance</h3><div>This finding has the potential to improve the efficacy of various iTBS applications and facilitate their clinical application.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10671,"journal":{"name":"Clinical Neurophysiology","volume":"180 ","pages":"Article 2111382"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Clinical Neurophysiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388245725012349","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective
Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) can modulate the neuronal activity in the primary motor cortex. However, the responsiveness to the protocol shows high inter-individual variability which remains not fully understood. This study investigated whether responsiveness to iTBS depends on stimulation intensity.
Methods
We conducted a sham-controlled, single-blinded experiment. Sixteen healthy volunteers participated in three sessions: iTBS at 80% of the active motor threshold (80%AMT), iTBS at 80% of the resting motor threshold (80%RMT), and a sham iTBS. Stimulation was applied to the hand representation of the primary motor cortex. The aftereffects of iTBS were assessed by changes in the amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) measured in posterior-anterior (PA) and anterior-posterior (AP) coil orientations to understand if there is differential effect in cortical networks.
Results
Our results showed significant facilitation of both PA and AP MEPs following iTBS at 80%RMT but not after iTBS at 80%AMT or sham stimulation. Additionally, the number of responders was greater following iTBS at 80%RMT compared to iTBS at 80%AMT.
Conclusions
Our results suggest that higher intensity iTBS may more effectively increase cortical excitability.
Significance
This finding has the potential to improve the efficacy of various iTBS applications and facilitate their clinical application.
期刊介绍:
As of January 1999, The journal Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, and its two sections Electromyography and Motor Control and Evoked Potentials have amalgamated to become this journal - Clinical Neurophysiology.
Clinical Neurophysiology is the official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, the Brazilian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, the Czech Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, the Italian Clinical Neurophysiology Society and the International Society of Intraoperative Neurophysiology.The journal is dedicated to fostering research and disseminating information on all aspects of both normal and abnormal functioning of the nervous system. The key aim of the publication is to disseminate scholarly reports on the pathophysiology underlying diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system of human patients. Clinical trials that use neurophysiological measures to document change are encouraged, as are manuscripts reporting data on integrated neuroimaging of central nervous function including, but not limited to, functional MRI, MEG, EEG, PET and other neuroimaging modalities.