Brain Stimul
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The transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) paradigm short-latency sensory afferent inhibition (SAI) investigates sensori-motor integration. Conventionally, one stimulation intensity is used for the conditioning pulse to the peripheral nerve. ⋯ Effects on MEP size in SAI depend on stimulus intensity and are not limited to anatomically homotopic muscles. Inhibitory rTMS modulates motor output but not the interaction of sensory inputs with the motor cortex.
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With the recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson's Disease, dystonia and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for epilepsy and depression, and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for the treatment of depression, neuromodulation has become increasingly relevant to clinical research. However, these techniques have significant drawbacks (eg, lack of special specificity and depth for the rTMS, and invasiveness and cumbersome maintenance for DBS). ⋯ This technique is still in preclinical testing and needs to be assessed thoroughly before being advanced to clinical trials. In this study, we review over 50 years of research data on the use of focused ultrasound (FUS) in neuronal tissue and live brain, and propose novel applications of this noninvasive neuromodulation method.
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Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been found to improve working memory (WM) performance in both healthy and clinical participants. However, whether this effect can be enhanced by cognitive activity undertaken during tDCS has not yet been explored. ⋯ These results indicate that there may be potential for the use of adjunctive cognitive remediation techniques to enhance the effects of tDCS. However, further research needs to be undertaken in this area to replicate and extend this finding.
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The recent development of optogenetic techniques has generated considerable excitement in neuroscience research. Optogenetics uses light to control the activity of neurons which have been modified to express light-sensitive proteins. ⋯ Because these proteins can be selectively expressed in specific cell types and/or in specific locations, optogenetics avoids several of the non-specific effects of electrical or pharmacological brain stimulation. This short review will explain the physiology of this technique, describe the basic and technical aspects of the method, and highlight some of the research as well as the clinical potential of optogenetics.
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The efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the treatment of major depression has already been shown. Novel TMS coils allowing stimulation of deeper brain regions have recently been developed and studied. ⋯ Our results suggest the possibility of a subpopulation of depressed patients who may benefit from deep TMS treatment, including patients who did not respond to ECT previously. However, the power of the study is small and similar larger samples are needed.