The aim of the present study was to investigate in healthy humans the possibility of a non-invasive modulation of motor cortex excitability by the application of static magnetic fields through the scalp. Static magnetic fields were obtained by using cylindrical NdFeB magnets. We performed four sets of experiments. In Experiment 1, we recorded motor potentials evoked by single-pulse transcranial...

Neuronal activity, including intrinsic neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission, is an essential regulator of brain development. However, how the intrinsic neuronal excitability of distinct neurons affects their integration into developing circuits remains poorly understood. To investigate this problem, we created several transgenic mouse lines in which intrinsic excitability is suppress...

Flexible behavior requires the ability to delay a response until it is appropriate. This can be achieved by holding either a sensory or a motor representation online. Here we assess whether maintenance of sensory or motor material drives the motor system to different functional states, as indexed by alterations of corticospinal excitability. We used single-pulse TMS to measure corticospinal exc...

Learning the spatial layout of a novel environment is associated with dynamic activity changes in hippocampus and medial parietal areas. With advancing age, ability to learn environments deteriorates substantially but underlying neural mechanisms are not well understood. Here, we report findings from behavioral fMRI experiment where healthy human older younger adults either sex performed learni...

Abstract Background Motor adaptation relies on error-based learning for accurate movements in changing environments. However, the neurophysiological mechanisms driving individual differences performance are unclear. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-evoked potential can provide a direct measure of cortical excitability. Objective To investigate excitability as predictor motor and robot-me...

The present twin study investigates heritability of motor cortex excitability, measured by the paired pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation technique. Specifically, intracortical facilitation (ICF) and inhibition (ICI) and corticospinal excitability were tested in monozygotic (MZ), dizygotic (DZ), and unrelated pairs (UP). Robust ICF and ICI effects were found, with a higher similarity of MZ ...