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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

A Standardized Protocol for Functional Motor Mapping Using Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

A Standardized Protocol for Functional Motor Mapping Using Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Published on: February 27, 2026

Normalizing motor cortex representations in focal hand dystonia.

Siobhan M Schabrun¹, Cathy M Stinear, Winston D Byblow

¹Research Centre for Human Movement Control, Discipline of Physiology, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

|December 17, 2008

Summary

Nonassociative stimulation (NAS) may reverse maladaptive brain changes in focal dystonia. This 1-hour therapy reduced abnormal brain maps and improved movement in some tasks, offering potential symptom relief.

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Last Updated: Jun 27, 2026

A Standardized Protocol for Functional Motor Mapping Using Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

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Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation

Published on: December 31, 2013

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Motor Control
Rehabilitation

Background:

Task-specific focal dystonia involves neurological issues like maladaptive plasticity.
Afferent input significantly influences cortical reorganization.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if asynchronous afferent stimulation can reverse cortical changes in focal dystonia.
To assess the impact of nonassociative stimulation (NAS) on brain maps and motor function.

Main Methods:

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to map hand muscles in 10 dystonic and 10 healthy participants.
Mapping was performed before and after 1 hour of NAS targeting specific hand muscles.
Motor tasks including grip-lift, handwriting, and cyclic drawing were assessed.

Main Results:

Dystonics initially exhibited larger TMS maps and closer centers of gravity (CoGs) for specific muscles.
Following NAS, dystonic participants showed reduced map sizes and increased separation between FDI and APB CoGs.
NAS led to decreased movement variability in cyclic drawing among dystonics.

Conclusions:

One hour of NAS can normalize abnormal TMS representational maps in focal dystonia.
These neurophysiological changes show preliminary association with improved circle drawing performance.