Long-lasting effects of transcranial static magnetic field stimulation on motor cortex excitability

Transcranial static magnetic field stimulation (tSMS) was recently added to the family of inhibitory non-invasive brain stimulation techniques. However, the application of tSMS for 10-20 min over the motor cortex (M1) induces only short-lasting effects that revert within few minutes.

We examined whether increasing the duration of tSMS to 30 min leads to long-lasting changes in cortical excitability, which is critical for translating tSMS toward clinical applications.

The study comprised 5 experiments in 45 healthy subjects. We assessed the impact of 30-min-tSMS over M1 on corticospinal excitability, as measured by the amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) and resting motor thresholds (RMTs) to single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) (experiments 1-2). We then assessed the impact of 30-min-tSMS on intracortical excitability, as measured by short-interval intracortical facilitation (SICF) and short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) using paired-pulse TMS protocols (experiments 2-4). We finally assessed the impact of 10-min-tSMS on SICF and SICI (experiment 5).

30-min-tSMS decreased MEP amplitude compared to sham for at least 30 min after the end of the stimulation. This long-lasting effect was associated with increased SICF and reduced SICI. 10-min-tSMS -previously reported to induce a short-lasting decrease in MEP amplitude- produced the opposite changes in intracortical excitability, decreasing SICF while increasing SICI.

These results suggest a dissociation of intracortical changes in the consolidation from short-lasting to long-lasting decrease of corticospinal excitability induced by tSMS. The long-lasting effects of 30-min-tSMS open the way to the translation of this simple, portable and low-cost technique toward clinical trials.