Brain topography
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Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) can be applied to locate cortical muscle representations. Usually, single TMS pulses are targeted to the motor cortex with the help of neuronavigation and by measuring motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitudes from the peripheral muscles. The efficacy of single-pulse TMS to induce MEPs has been shown to increase by applying facilitatory paired-pulse TMS (ppTMS). ⋯ The areas, shapes, hotspots, and CoGs of the muscle representations were in agreement. Hence, biphasic ppTMS has potential in the mapping of cortical hand representations in healthy individuals as an alternative for single-pulses, but with lower stimulation intensity by utilizing cortical facilitatory mechanism. This could improve application of nTMS in subjects with low motor tract excitability.