A single session of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can induce behavioural effects that outlast the duration of the stimulation train itself (off-line effects). Series of rTMS sessions on consecutive days are being used for therapeutic applications in a variety of disorders and are assumed to lead to the build-up of cumulative effects. However, no studies have carefully asse...

In a double-blind, controlled study, we examined the therapeutic effects of high-frequency left prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on schizophrenia symptoms. A total of 22 chronic hospitalized schizophrenia patients were randomly assigned to 2 weeks (10 sessions) of real or sham rTMS. rTMS was given with the following parameters: 20 trains of 5-second 10-Hz stimulati...

Brain stimulation studies have previously demonstrated a causal link between general pitch memory processes and activity within the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG). Building on this evidence, the present study tested the impact of left SMG stimulation on two distinct pitch memory phases, retention and encoding. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was employed during the retention...

INTRODUCTION "Theory of Mind" (ToM), i.e., the ability to infer other persons' mental states, is a key function of social cognition. It is increasingly recognized to form a multidimensional construct. One differentiation that has been proposed is that between cognitive and affective ToM, whose neural correlates remain to be identified. We aimed to ascertain the possible role of the right dorsol...

The human posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is well known to be involved in various functions of multisensory spatial perception. However, the specific role of the PPC in hearing has, up to now, remained unclear. To allow more reliable conclusions to be drawn on this issue, we have used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in healthy subjects. Focal stimulation of the PPC induced a system...

BACKGROUND Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a new treatment with promise for resistant depression. OBJECTIVE We tested the economic feasibility of this new method compared with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). METHOD An economic decision analysis was used to compare the costs of three different treatment strategies for nonpsychotic severe depression. The strategies wer...

Self-other discrimination is fundamental to social interaction, however, little is known about the neural systems underlying this ability. In a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we demonstrated that a right fronto-parietal network is activated during viewing of self-faces as compared with the faces of familiar others. Here we used image-guided repetitive transcranial magneti...

The authors investigated the use of slow-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the unaffected hemisphere to decrease interhemispheric inhibition of the lesioned hemisphere and improve motor function in patients within 12 months of a stroke. Patients showed a significant decrease in simple and choice reaction time and improved performance of the Purdue Pegboard test wi...

I applaud the authors of the article “Can temporal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation be enhanced by targeting affective components of tinnitus with frontal rTMS? a randomized controlled pilot trial” because many of them are pioneers in the development of protocols that use rTMS to treat chronic tinnitus. Investigators (including myself) around the world conducting similar studies of ...

The authors investigated whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) at 1 Hz (12 minutes; 90% of motor threshold) to the primary motor cortex (M1) leads to changes in diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). After the rTMS train, there was a temporary small restriction in diffusion within the targeted left M1 that disappeared after 5 minutes. These findings provide a physiologic correl...