Affiliations: Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of
the Brain (FMRIB), Department of Clinical Neurology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Note: [] Corresponding author: Dr. C Stagg FMRIB, John Radcliffe
Hospital, Headley Way, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK. Tel.: +44 1865 222729;
Fax: +44 1865 222717; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) paradigms are
showing increasing promise as tools for neurorehabilitation in a variety of
chronic neurological and psychiatric conditions. However, the mechanisms by
which they modulate cortical activation are still not completely understood. In
this review we summarize what non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging
techniques can tell us about the cortical effects of rTMS – from changes at a
cellular level within the stimulated motor cortex, to modulating activation
patterns within the wider motor network. We discuss how variation in these
effects in stroke patients may inform our understanding of how rTMS could
improve function in these patients.
Keywords: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, motor cortex, stroke, functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy
