Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to the Unilateral Hemisphere of Rat Brain
Published on: October 22, 2016
Interhemispheric enhancement of somatosensory cortical excitability through contralateral repetitive transcranial
Sean K Meehan1, Meghan A Linsdell, Todd C Handy
1Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Objectives:
Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) were used to index somatosensory-somatosensory interhemispheric interactions and highlight potential mechanisms by which TMS alters contralateral somatosensory cortex excitability.
Methods:
Fifteen healthy individuals participated in three sessions on separate days. On each day participants received either: (1) continuous theta burst (cTBS), (2) 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) or (3) control TMS over left somatosensory cortex. SEPs from right somatosensory cortex were recorded before and after TMS while participants were at rest, performed sensorimotor tracking or the sustained attention to response task (SART). Left-handed tracking performance was also indexed.
Results:
N20-P27 amplitude was increased following 1 Hz rTMS while participants were at rest. This increased amplitude was not observed during right-handed tracking or the SART. N20-P27 amplitude was not influenced by cTBS or control TMS. P15-N20 and N34-P50 SEP components were not influenced by TMS. Right- and left-handed tracking performance was not transiently influenced by TMS.
Conclusions:
The results support TMS induced somatosensory-somatosensory interactions and offer converging evidence for an intercortical, rather that intracortical, mechanism that mediates contralateral sensory processing. These interactions appear to be dependent on concurrent attention/task demands.
Significance:
Somatosensory-somatosensory interactions are reflected by intercortical mechanisms that are state and task dependent.
More Related Videos
13:56The Use of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy as a Tool for the Measurement of Bi-hemispheric Transcranial Electric Stimulation Effects on Primary Motor Cortex Metabolism
Published on: November 19, 2014
12:13Assessing Primary Motor Cortex Excitability and Excitability Modulation by Pairing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation with Electromyography
Published on: October 7, 2025