Mapping of multiple muscles with transcranial magnetic stimulation: Absolute and relative test-retest reliability

The spatial accuracy of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may be as small as a few millimeters. Despite such great potential, navigated TMS (nTMS) mapping is still underused for the assessment of motor plasticity, particularly in clinical settings. Here, we investigate the within‐limb somatotopy gradient as well as absolute and relative reliability of three hand muscle cortical representations (MCRs) using a comprehensive grid‐based sulcus‐informed nTMS motor mapping. We enrolled 22 young healthy male volunteers. Two nTMS mapping sessions were separated by 5–10 days. Motor evoked potentials were obtained from abductor pollicis brevis (APB), abductor digiti minimi, and extensor digitorum communis. In addition to individual MRI‐based analysis, we studied normalized MNI MCRs. For the reliability assessment, we calculated intraclass correlation and the smallest detectable change. Our results revealed a somatotopy gradient reflected by APB MCR having the most lateral location. Reliability analysis showed that the commonly used metrics of MCRs, such as areas, volumes, centers of gravity (COGs), and hotspots had a high relative and low absolute reliability for all three muscles. For within‐limb TMS somatotopy, the most common metrics such as the shifts between MCR COGs and hotspots had poor relative reliability. However, overlaps between different muscle MCRs were highly reliable. We, thus, provide novel evidence that inter‐muscle MCR interaction can be reliably traced using MCR overlaps while shifts between the COGs and hotspots of different MCRs are not suitable for this purpose. Our results have implications for the interpretation of nTMS motor mapping results in healthy subjects and patients with neurological conditions

The willingness of teachers to use modern educational technologies in educational process

Among the most significant trends in the development of vocational education, introduction and use of educational technologies can be distinguished. Since the main goal of higher schools is to prepare a competent competitive specialist, they search for the most suitable methods that contribute to rapid achievement of results. The use of technologies by educational institutions is explained by their advantage over other methods of developing professional competence. Due to implementation of a certain algorithm of actions, they allow you to achieve guaranteed results in a timely manner. The purpose of the article is to form future teachers ' the level of competency development, reflecting students’ willingness to adapt, adjust and use educational technologies in professional teaching activities. To do this, we checked the level of motivation of future teachers, the level of knowledge of the theoretical foundations of educational technologies, their design and implementation in professional and pedagogical activities, and the level of formation of the ability to reflect. The development of competencies reflecting the student’s readiness to adapt, adjust and use educational technologies in professional pedagogical activity was carried out in a certain logical sequence, so that the student possessed versatile knowledge about educational technologies, was capable of their systematic creative application and his reflective activity was associated with self-actualization and striving for the implementation of constructive professional activities. The development process was carried out in the course of students solving research and design problems. Research activity was carried out by students in the study of the course “Pedagogical technologies”, fundamental for future teachers of vocational training. The implementation of the projects was carried out during the development of the course "Project Activities of a Professional Education Teacher"