Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Corticospinal Excitability Modulation During Action Observation
Published on: December 31, 2013
The response to repetitive stimulation of human motor cortex is influenced by the history of synaptic activity
1Discipline of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Abstract:
Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), can modify cortical excitability in a lasting fashion. The modification can be bi-directional in nature and holds considerable therapeutic promise for a number of neurological conditions. However, the effectiveness of these techniques is currently limited by large intra- and inter-subject variability in the response. A number of factors that contribute to response variability have now been identified, with one of the most important being the history of synaptic activity within the cortical region being targeted by stimulation. In this review we discuss what is currently known about the influence of behaviourally, or experimentally, induced changes in synaptic activity in the cortical (or interconnected) region being targeted by stimulation on the response to rTMS techniques. Understanding such influences is a critical step in the development of effective therapeutic paradigms employing such techniques.
Related Concept Videos
Muscle Stimulation Frequency
Wave summation
At low firing rates, motor neurons induce individual twitch contractions in muscle fibers. These twitches...
Motor Unit Stimulation
The latent period of contraction marks the onset of excitation-contraction coupling, when the action potential propagates across the sarcolemma, preparing the muscle fibers for contraction. As the fibers enter the contraction phase, the...
Functions of the Nervous System
Somatosensory, Motor, and Association Cortex
Long-term Potentiation
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when presynaptic neurons...
Long-term Potentiation

