RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Application of long-interval paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to motion-sensitive visual cortex does not lead to changes in motion perception
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 766428
DO 10.1101/766428
A1 Olga Lucia Gamboa Arana
A1 Alexandra Brito
A1 Zachary Abzug
A1 Tracy D’Arbeloff
A1 Lysianne Beynel
A1 Erik A. Wing
A1 Moritz Dannhauer
A1 Hannah Palmer
A1 Susan A. Hilbig
A1 Courtney A. Crowell
A1 Rachel Donaldson
A1 Roberto Cabeza
A1 Simon W. Davis
A1 Angel V. Peterchev
A1 Marc A. Sommer
A1 Lawrence G. Appelbaum
YR 2019
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/09/12/766428.abstract
AB The perception of visual motion is dependent on a set of occipitotemporal regions which are readily accessible to neuromodulation. Previous studies using paired-pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (ppTMS) have provided evidence of the capacity of this type of protocols to modulate cognitive processes. To test whether such cortical modulation can be observed in the visual system, particularly during motion perception, ppTMS was applied to the occipital cortex using both scalp-based and meta-analytic targeting coordinates. In this within-subject, sham-controlled study, fifteen subjects completed two sessions in two consecutive weeks. On the first visit, subject-specific resting motor threshold (RMT) was determined and participants performed an adaptive motion discrimination task to determine individual motion sensitivity. During the second visit, subjects performed the same task with three individualized difficulty levels as two TMS pulses were delivered respectively −150 and −50 ms prior to motion stimulus onset at 120% RMT, under the logic that the cumulative inhibitory effect of these two pulses would alter motion sensitivity as measured by the individually calibrated task. The ppTMS was delivered at one of two locations: 3 cm dorsal and 5 cm lateral to inion (scalp-based coordinate), or at the site of peak activation for “motion” according to the NeuroSynth fMRI database (meta-analytic coordinate). Sham stimulation was delivered on one-third of trials and evenly between the two targets. Analyses showed no significant active-versus-sham effects of ppTMS when stimulation was delivered to the meta-analytic (p = 0.15) or scalp-based coordinates (p = 0.17), which were separated by 29 mm on average. Additionally, there was no was significant interaction between ppTMS at either location and task difficulty level (p = 0.12 and p = 0.33, respectively). These findings fail to support the hypothesis that long-interval ppTMS recruits inhibitory processes in motion-sensitive cortex, but must be considered within the limits of the current design choices.HIGHLIGHTSLong-interval paired-pulse TMS was applied to visual cortex during a motion taskThe ppTMS was delivered according to scalp and meta-analytic coordinates, as well as shamNo effects of active-versus-sham stimulation were observed on motion task performance