Quantifying TMS-induced sleep changes: A novel neurophysiological assessment approach

Background

Neuromodulation methods such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) show promise for the research and manipulation of brain activity during sleep. Nevertheless, when it comes to accurately documenting changes in neurophysiology occurring in real-time, typical sleep evaluation approaches, such as subjective reports and routine polysomnography, fall short. Accurately quantifying changes in sleep architecture and cortical excitability generated by TMS is challenging due to these constraints.

New method

A framework for electroencephalogram spectral analysis (EEG-SA) is presented in this paper to tackle these issues. This method compares pre- and post-TMS spectral power fluctuations in the important frequency bands delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma. EEG-SA provides a comprehensive evaluation of neurophysiology to identify changes in spectral properties and dynamic shifts in cortical excitability caused by TMS.

Results

Research shows that EEG-SA can detect changes in sleep architecture caused by TMS. In particular, improvements in slow-wave activity and cortical synchronization are analyzed, two factors crucial to better sleep quality. These findings highlight the promise of EEG-SA for improving methods of sleep regulation.

Comparison with existing methods

A precise, real-time measurement of neurophysiological changes is provided by EEG-SA, in contrast to conventional evaluation approaches that depend on subjective sleep reports and routine polysomnography. This paradigm analyzes TMS-induced sleep changes better than previous methods by providing a more objective and thorough evaluation.

Conclusion

TMS-induced sleep alterations may be reliably quantified using EEG-SA, opening the door to individualized therapy for sleep disorders. Insomnia, hypersomnia, and other sleep disorders might benefit from treatment tactics that optimize TMS settings according to individual neurophysiological responses. One way to improve the efficacy of sleep modulation treatments is to include EEG-SA in clinical settings.