ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is extensively used in basic and clinical neuroscience. Previous work has shown substantial residual variability in TMS effects even despite use of on-line visual feedback monitoring of coil position. Here, we aimed to evaluate if off-line modeling of coil position and orientation deviations can enhance detection of TMS effects. METHODS: Retrospective modeling was used to denoise the impact of common coil position and rotation deviations during TMS experimental sessions on motor evoked potentials (MEP) to single pulse TMS. RESULTS: Offline denoising led to a 26.19% improvement in the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of corticospinal excitability measurements. CONCLUSIONS: Offline modeling enhanced detection of TMS effects by removing variability introduced by coil deviations. SIGNIFICANCE: This approach could allow more accurate determination of TMS effects in cognitive and interventional neuroscience.
HIGHLIGHTS
Coil deviations impact TMS effects despite use of on-line neuronavigation feedback.
Offline denoising of coil deviation impacts on TMS effects reduced variability.
Offline denoising also significantly improved overall SNR of TMS effects.
