Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 22, 2025
08:50
Brain State-dependent Brain Stimulation with Real-time Electroencephalography-Triggered Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Published on: August 20, 2019
14.5K
Continuous theta-burst stimulation modulates resting-state EEG microstates in healthy subjects
Shuang Qiu1,2, Shengpei Wang1, Weiwei Peng3
1Research Center for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Cognitive Neurodynamics
|May 23, 2022
Summary
Continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) improved hand dexterity by altering brain dynamics. Specifically, cTBS modulated microstate B, a key EEG pattern, linking it to motor function enhancement.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Motor Control
Background:
- Continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) is known to induce lasting inhibitory effects on cortical excitability and modulate neural oscillations and functional connectivity.
- The precise impact of cTBS on brain dynamics, particularly as reflected in resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) microstate sequences, remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of cTBS applied over the left motor cortex on brain dynamics, specifically focusing on EEG microstate sequences and their relationship with motor function.
- To assess how cTBS influences hand dexterity, as measured by the Nine-Hole Peg Test (NHPT), and correlate these changes with alterations in brain activity patterns.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-eight healthy participants received 40-second cTBS over the left motor cortex.
- Resting-state EEG and NHPT performance were recorded before and up to 90 minutes after cTBS.
- EEG data were analyzed using k-means clustering to identify four microstates (A, B, C, D), with subsequent assessment of microstate dynamics, functional connectivity, and NHPT performance changes.
Main Results:
- cTBS application resulted in a significant improvement in hand dexterity, indicated by a shorter NHPT completion time immediately post-stimulation.
- Microstate B exhibited the most pronounced topographical change after cTBS compared to other microstates.
- A decrease in NHPT completion time correlated with a decrease in the mean occurrence of microstate B, and functional connectivity analysis showed increased node efficiency in microstate B at the C4 electrode.
Conclusions:
- cTBS over the motor cortex specifically modulates the dynamics of EEG microstate B.
- The study provides evidence for an association between microstate B dynamics and motor function.
- These findings suggest that cTBS influences the motor network through specific alterations in brain dynamics captured by microstate analysis.
