Brain Stimul
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Motor training usually increases the excitability of corticospinal outputs to the trained muscles. However, it is uncertain to what extent the change in excitability is a critical component of behavioral learning or whether it is a non-specific side effect. ⋯ The present study indicates that in the short term, increases in corticospinal excitability are not related to immediate changes in behavioral motor outcome.
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Periodic stimulation of occipital areas using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at alpha (α) frequency (8-12 Hz) enhances electroencephalographic (EEG) α-oscillation long after tACS-offset. Two mechanisms have been suggested to underlie these changes in oscillatory EEG activity: tACS-induced entrainment of brain oscillations and/or tACS-induced changes in oscillatory circuits by spike-timing dependent plasticity. ⋯ Our results indicate that plasticity mechanisms are sufficient to explain α-aftereffects in response to α-tACS, and inform models of tACS-induced plasticity in oscillatory circuits. Modifying brain oscillations with tACS holds promise for clinical applications in disorders involving abnormal neural synchrony.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The ACDC pilot trial: targeting the anterior cingulate by double cone coil rTMS for the treatment of depression.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the dorsolateral-prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) with conventional figure-of-8 (=butterfly) coils has been used as an antidepressant therapeutic tool for almost twenty years. Very recently, an innovative rTMS coil, the so-called double cone coil (DC), was introduced allowing the modulation of the anterior cingulate cortex (AC). We investigated safety and therapeutic effectiveness of this stimulation in a naturalistic clinical setting. ⋯ This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility of ACDC-rTMS-stimulation as an add-on-treatment for depression. Its clinical effects warrant further investigation in the future.
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Within the last years, occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) has proven to be an important method in the treatment of severe therapy-resistant neurological pain disorders. The correspondence between lead placement as well as possible stimulation parameters and the resulting stimulation effects remains unclear. ⋯ A regular mapping of stimulation and sensory parameters allows a coordinated monitoring. The stimulation results can be reviewed and compared with regards to clinical effectiveness.