Accessory to dissipate heat from transcranial magnetic stimulation coils

Background: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) produces magnetic pulses by passing a strong electrical current through coils of wire. Repeated stimulation accumulates heat, which places practical constraints on experimental design. New Method: We designed a condensation-free pre-chilled heat sink to extend the operational duration of transcranial magnetic stimulation coils. Results: The application of a pre-chilled heat sink reduced the rate of heating across all tests and extended the duration of stimulation before coil overheating, particularly in conditions where heat management was problematic. Comparison with Existing Method: Applying an external heat sink had the practical effect of extending the operational time of TMS coils by 5.8 to 19.3 minutes compared to standard operating procedures. Conclusion: Applying an external heat sink increases the quantity of data that can be collected within a single experimental session

Enhancing creative cognition with a rapid right-parietal neurofeedback procedure

partially_open5noThis study was supported by the CREAM project, funded by the European Commission under Grant Agreement n° 262022. This publication reflects the views of the authors only, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. AA is funded by grants from the Cogito foundation (R117/13; 14-139-R), Fondazione del Monte (339bis/2017), MIUR (RBFR12F0BD) and Ministero della Salute (GR-2010–2319335).The present article describes an innovative neurofeedback training (NFT) procedure aimed at increasing creative cognition through the enhancement of specific brain activities previously associated with divergent thinking. We designed and tested two NFT protocols based on training alpha and beta EEG oscillations selectively measured over the right parietal region. A total of 80 participants were involved, 40 in the alpha NFT protocol and 40 in the beta NFT protocol. The NFT loop was closed on a video stream that would advance only when oscillation power exceeded a normalized threshold. The total duration of the protocol was two hours in a single day, hence its classification as rapid. Changes in ideational fluency and originality, measured with a divergent thinking task, were compared between participants receiving real video feedback and participants receiving sham feedback. We controlled for individual differences in creative achievement level. Results showed that the protocols were effective at enhancing alpha and beta activities in the targeted area. Differences between the two protocols emerged in their effectiveness at promoting divergent thinking. While no significant changes in originality resulted from the rapid alpha NFT, increases in both originality and fluency emerged as a consequence of the rapid beta NFT. These results were particularly evident in participants starting with a low creative achievement level. Possible interpretations and future directions are proposed and discussed.openAgnoli, Sergio*; Zanon, Marco; Mastria, Serena; Avenanti, Alessio; Corazza, Giovanni EmanueleAgnoli, Sergio*; Zanon, Marco; Mastria, Serena; Avenanti, Alessio; Corazza, Giovanni Emanuel

Task-dependent Modulation of Cortical Excitability and Balance Control in Individuals with Post-concussion Syndrome

In most cases, symptoms resolve between 7-10 days post-concussion. However, in 10-15% of the concussed population, symptoms can remain unresolved for months to years following the head injury. The purpose of this thesis was two-fold, and was broken up into two studies, where the same individuals participated in both studies. The purpose of the first study was to quantify the differences in balance control between individuals with PCS (i.e., had been experiencing symptoms for \u3c30 days) and non-concussed individuals during a lower-limb reaching task. Participants completed a static balance assessment before and after a lower-limb reaching task, which incorporated a Go/No-Go paradigm. Results from this study revealed no differences in the static stability assessments, however, individuals with PCS demonstrated increased medial-lateral COP displacement as well as greater trunk pitch during the reaching task. Overall, the findings reveal persistent balance impairments in individuals with PCS, which may put this population at an increased risk of further injury. The purpose of the second study was to assess task-dependent modulation of cortical excitability prior to planned index finger abduction contractions comparing a non-concussed population to a population with PCS. The protocol in this study consisted of both single and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) which was applied prior to the beginning of 3 different tasks (i.e., a rest condition with no plan to contract, a precision contraction, and a powerful contraction). In addition to the three tasks, participants also had to respond to a Go/No-Go cue. The results of this study revealed an increase in excitability prior to a precision contraction in both non-concussed and PCS groups. No differences in task-dependent modulation were found between the two groups with respect to intracortical facilitation and inhibition, however a negative correlation between number of symptoms reported (SCAT3 symptom evaluation) and intracortical facilitation was revealed. The increase in corticospinal excitability prior to a precision contraction was not explained by the two cortical mechanisms we assessed and may therefore be due to spinal modulation or a different cortical mechanism. Overall, based on the results from this thesis, it appears that individuals with PCS have balance impairments, which may be a result of an inability to maximally activate their postural muscles. Furthermore, it appears that those individuals who reported a higher number of symptoms had greater reductions in intracortical facilitation, likely reflecting the heterogeneity of this clinical group

Ergastava transkraniaalse magnetstimulatsiooni mõju petukäitumisele

The present study investigated the effects of excitation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on deceptive behaviour. The event-related potential (ERP) component P300 is well known as a neural marker of deception. P300 amplitude was examined in response to critical, familiar, and neutral stimuli in a task similar to the concealed information test. The electroencephalography (EEG) of 13 volunteers was recorded combined with rTMS. We did not find a difference in response to rTMS between right and left DLPFC as initially expected. However, TMS elicited a higher mean P300 amplitude to the critical stimulus compared to sham condition. Therefore, noninvasive prefrontal cortex excitation by rTMS can be used to increase the sensitivity of P300 to critical items in an analogue of the concealed information test

Superior parietal cortex and the attention to delayed intention: An rTMS study.

This study aimed to investigate whether the superior parietal cortex is causally involved in PM and, if so, what is its functional role. We applied repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the left and right superior parietal cortex, and we evaluated the TMS effects on two different PM tasks that required to direct the attention towards either the external stimuli (\u2018Monitoring-load\u2019 task) or the intention in memory (\u2018Retrospective-load\u2019 task). rTMS of left parietal cortex produced a facilitation of PM performance in both tasks. This was coupled by slower responses to the ongoing activity, for left and right parietal stimulation, but selectively in the \u2018Retrospective-load\u2019 condition. The present results suggest that superior parietal cortex is causally involved in biasing top-down attentional resources between the external, ongoing stimuli and the internal, PM intentions. The possible physiological mechanisms underlying the TMS-related improvement in PM performance are discussed

Congruent and Incongruent Corticospinal Activations at the Level of Multiple Effectors

Motor resonance is defined as the subliminal activation of the motor system while observing actions performed by others. However, resonating with another person's actions is not always an appropriate response: In real life, people do not just imitate but rather respond in a suitable fashion. A growing body of neurophysiologic studies has demonstrated that motor resonance can be overridden by complementary motor responses (such as preparing a precision grip on a small object when seeing an open hand in sign of request). In this study, we investigated the relationship between congruent and incongruent corticospinal activations at the level of multiple effectors. The modulation of MEPs evoked by single-pulse TMS over the motor cortex was assessed in upper and lower limb muscles of participants observing a soccer player performing a penalty kick straight in their direction. Study results revealed a double dissociation: Seeing the soccer player kicking the ball triggered a motor resonance in the observer's lower limb, whereas the upper limb response afforded by the object was overridden. On the other hand, seeing the ball approaching the observers elicited a complementary motor activation in upper limbs while motor resonance in lower limbs disappeared. Control conditions showing lateral kicks, mimicked kicks, and a ball in penalty area were also included to test the motor coding of object affordances. Results point to a modulation of motor responses in different limbs over the course of action and in function of their relevance in different contexts. We contend that ecologically valid paradigms are nowadays needed to shed light on the motor system functioning in complex forms of interaction

CortExTool: a toolbox for processing motor cortical excitability measurements by transcranial magnetic stimulation

Assessing motor cortical excitability (CE) is essential in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in order to ensure both safe and normalised stimulation power across subjects or patients. However, there is still a lack of automatic and easy-to-use tools for analysing the electromyographic (EMG) signal features that are relevant for CE assessment, such as the amplitude of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) or the duration of cortical silent periods (CSPs). Here, we describe CortExTool, a signal processing toolbox we developed to fulfil these needs. The toolbox, developed in the Matlab programming language, is open-source and freely accessible to the TMS community. CortExTool provides all the standard functionalities required to automatically process EMG signals recorded during a CE experiment, on both individual and group levels. Its use should allow to standardize and to facilitate the processing of CE measurements by TMS

A functional role for the motor system in language understanding: Evidence from Theta-Burst Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Does language comprehension depend, in part, on neural systems for action? In previous studies, motor areas of the brain were activated when people read or listened to action verbs, but it remains unclear whether such activation is functionally relevant for comprehension. In the experiments reported here, we used off-line theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation to investigate whether a causal relationship exists between activity in premotor cortex and action-language understanding. Right-handed participants completed a lexical decision task, in which they read verbs describing manual actions typically performed with the dominant hand (e.g., “to throw,” “to write”) and verbs describing nonmanual actions (e.g., “to earn,” “to wander”). Responses to manual-action verbs (but not to nonmanual-action verbs) were faster after stimulation of the hand area in left premotor cortex than after stimulation of the hand area in right premotor cortex. These results suggest that premotor cortex has a functional role in action-language understanding

Ethical Issues in Neuroscience and Neuropsychiatric: A Review of Major Issues

Adherence to ethical principles is essential nowadays in neuroscience and neuropsychiatric research. observance of ethical principles is essential in the case of neurology and neuroscience research, as it is in all the other medical and surgical fields. as neuroscience research advances, researchers, clinicians, and other stakeholders will face a host of ethical challenges. Ethical problems of neuroscience-based diagnosis and interventions. This section concerns problems resulting from neuroimaging, pharmacological brain enhancement, and new technical interventions in the brain. The research is based on a literature review, so data will be collected from literary sources such as scientific journals, books, and articles in January 2023 relating to the research topic. The literature search process must be systematically documented, including keywords, databases used, and search dates. Data analysis will be carried out by reading and understanding the content of the literature, identifying ethical problems encountered in the field of neuroscience and neuropsychiatry, and analyzing different perspectives in addressing these ethical problems.  In this article, we also review the major ethical issues raised by advances in neuropsychiatric genetics. Advances in neuroscience raise ethical, social, and legal issues about the human person and the brain. The potential benefits of applying neuroimaging, psychopharmacology, and neurotechnology to support mentally ill and healthy persons have to be carefully weighed against their potential harm. Questions concerning underlying concepts of humans should be actively dealt with by interdisciplinary and public debate.  t is therefore essential to develop bioethics and encourage discoveries in neuroscience to firmly respect the ethical principles available at the time of their publication.Keyword: Ethical Issues, Neuroscience, Neuropsychiatri