BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation RSS feed: Current Issue. BRAIN STIMULATION aims to be the premier journal for publication of original research in the field of neuromodulation. The journal includes: a) original articles (up to 5,000 words); b) brief reports (up to 2,000 words); c) invited and original reviews; d) technology and methodological perspectives (reviews of new devices, description of new methods, etc.); and e) letters to the Editor. Special issues of the journal will be considered based on scientific merit. The scope of BRAIN STIMULATION extends across the entire field of brain stimulation, including noninvasive and invasive techniques and technologies that alter brain function through the use of electrical, magnetic, radiowave, or focally targeted pharmacologic stimulation. This includes investigations that study the effects of brain stimulation on basic processes, such as gene expression and other aspects of molecular biology, neurochemical regulation, functional brain activity, sensorimotor function, and cognitive and affective processes at the systems level. The journal seeks the highest level of research on the biophysics and biopsychophysics of stimulation paradigms as well as the use of these techniques as a probe to outline patterns of neural connectivity. As an equal partner with this basic emphasis, the journal will have strong representation of research on the therapeutic potential and adverse effects of the stimulation technologies. The inclusion of research in therapeutics will represent not only clinical trials, but also conceptual pieces, discussions of ethics as they pertain to this field, services research, etc. http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/?rss=yesElsevier Inc.en © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation1935-861X33July 2010 © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. healthpermissions@elsevier.comhttp://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X1000063X/abstract?rss=yesThe brain stimulation field in general continues to evolve and grow, and the journal, Brain Stimulation, is growing with it. I am proud to announce that this month Brain Stimulation received its very first Thomson Institute for Scientific Information/Journal Citation Reports (ISI/JCR) impact factor. It received a respectable 3.0, which places Brain Stimulation 103 of 230 journals in the Neurosciences category and 48 of 167 journals in the Clinical Neurology category. Interestingly, the journal was not included in the Psychiatry category. If it were, its 3.0 impact factor would place the journal 41 of 117 Psychiatry titles. This is great for a brand new journal but not surprising given the important mission, a rapidly expanding field, and the international and accomplished editorial board members and high quality submissions. Although impact factors matter somewhat, Brain Stimulation will settle for nothing less than to lead and shape this field, providing a needed forum for brain stimulation methods, and promote the multidisciplinary consilience that this field needs. Consilience is the coming together of information from different disciplines to further knowledge and shift paradigms and thinking. We are launched but have so much more to do!!From the Editor-in-Chief's deskMark S. George10.1016/j.brs.2010.06.005BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2010-07-02BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2010-07-0233S1935-861X(10)X0003-1Editorial129130http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X09000801/abstract?rss=yesBackground: Cortisol may fulfill all criteria for a neuromodulator. However, it is not known whether it may rapidly influence motor system activity in humans.Objective: Circulating cortisol levels were manipulated by administration of a single intravenous dose of hydrocortisone or saline solution, on separate days, to study changes in corticospinal and motor cortical excitability.Methods: Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) to single- and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation from the resting first dorsal interosseous muscle, and cortisol plasma levels were assessed before and after either a bolus of 20 mg of hydrocortisone or saline solution in seven healthy subjects.Results: Mean cortisol plasma level rapidly rose, peaked between 5 and 10 minutes after hydrocortisone injection, to slowly decay afterward. Mean MEP amplitude significantly increased from preinjection levels, and mean standard deviation of MEPs significantly increased between 8-12 minutes postinjection. Short-intracortical inhibition, tested during the same period, was significantly decreased. No significant changes in the above measures were observed after saline solution administration.Conclusions: Our results suggest that high circulating levels of cortisol rapidly increase corticospinal excitability and reduce gamma aminobutyric acid activity, as measured by short-intracortical inhibition, in humans. These effects, lasting about 10 minutes, were observed within 15 minutes from the pharmacological intervention. They are therefore compatible with a nongenomic mechanism. These findings are important in view of the notion that a decrease in intracortical gamma aminobutyric acid activity appears to be a prerequisite for motor learning and plastic processes in the human motor cortex.Cortisol-induced effects on human cortical excitabilityPaolo Milani, Pietro Piu, Traian Popa, Raimondo della Volpe, Marco Bonifazi, Alessandro Rossi, Riccardo Mazzocchio10.1016/j.brs.2009.07.004BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2009-08-21BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2009-08-2133S1935-861X(10)X0003-1Original Research131139http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X09000850/abstract?rss=yesBackground: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment of depression utilizes numerous predetermined patterns of stimulation. As an alternative to using invariant stimulus timing parameters, the interactive technique delivers individual stimuli based on the background electroencephalogram (EEG) activity.Objective: This study examines the use of an EEG-dependent technique as a means to enhance the efficacy of rTMS in the treatment of depression.Methods: Forty-four patients with treatment-refractory major depression were treated, in a randomized, doubleblind, 4-week trial, with two different rTMS stimulus timing techniques (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). Standard rTMS utilized 10-Hz stimuli, whereas interactive rTMS applied individual stimuli in response to a selected pattern of background EEG activity analyzed in real time. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the Beck's Depression Inventory-II (BDI) scores were recorded at baseline, 2 weeks and after the final treatment.Results: The interactive group showed a trend toward greater efficacy than the standard group in both absolute (t=−1.68; P=.100) and percentage (t=−1.74; P=.090) change in scores on HDRS (and similarly BDI). The response rate (>50% reduction) for the interactive technique of 43% (9/21) was also different to that of the standard technique (22%; 5/23; odds ratio: 2.70).Conclusions: The use of EEG-based TMS stimuli has been shown to be feasible in an rTMS clinical trial in treatment-resistant depression. The EEG-based interactive technique was associated with an indication of a trend toward a greater clinical effect than the standard rTMS technique. The interactive technique thus has the potential to refine the rTMS methodology and to enhance efficacy in the treatment of depression.The use of background EEG activity to determine stimulus timing as a means of improving rTMS efficacy in the treatment of depression: A controlled comparison with standard techniquesGregory W. Price, Joseph W.Y. Lee, Carrie-Anne L. Garvey, Nathan Gibson10.1016/j.brs.2009.08.004BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2009-09-22BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2009-09-2233S1935-861X(10)X0003-1Original Research140152http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X09001004/abstract?rss=yesBackground: The amplitude of compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) evoked in response to magnetic cervical motor root stimulation (MRS) has rarely been used as a diagnostic parameter because of the difficulty in obtaining supramaximal CMAPs.Objective: To clarify whether supramaximal CMAPs could be elicited by MRS, and if so, whether their amplitude and area could be used to evaluate the conduction of proximal motor roots.Method: With the use of a custom-made high-power magnetic stimulator, the CMAPs evoked in response to MRS of the first dorsal interosseous, abductor digiti minimi, and abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscles were compared with those evoked by electrical stimulation at the wrist, brachial plexus, and cervical motor roots. The collision technique was also used to exclude volume conduction. The correlation between MRS-induced CMAP latency and body height was evaluated.Results: In 32 of 36 normal subjects, supramaximal CMAPs were obtained in response to MRS. The size of CMAPs occurring in response to MRS was the same as the size of those occurring in response to high-voltage electrical cervical motor root stimulation. The collision technique revealed that the APB muscle was highly contaminated by volume conduction from adjacent muscles. CMAP latency correlated significantly with body height.Conclusions: Supramaximal CMAPs can be obtained in most normal subjects. In subjects exhibiting confirmed supramaximal CMAPs in response to MRS, not only the latency of these CMAPs but also their amplitude and area can be clinically useful, excluding CMAPs in the APB muscle.Supramaximal responses can be elicited in hand muscles by magnetic stimulation of the cervical motor rootsLumine Matsumoto, Ritsuko Hanajima, Hideyuki Matsumoto, Shinya Ohminami, Yasuo Terao, Shoji Tsuji, Yoshikazu Ugawa10.1016/j.brs.2009.09.001BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2009-10-22BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2009-10-2233S1935-861X(10)X0003-1Original Research153160http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X09001053/abstract?rss=yesObjective: The cerebellar influence on the motor cortex output is exerted mostly though the cerebellothalamocortical pathway (CTC). One way to explore this pathway is by the means of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). A single-pulse conditioning magnetic stimulation delivered over the lateral cerebellum was shown to diminish the excitability of the contralateral motor cortex 5 milliseconds later (cerebellocortical inhibition [CBI]), most likely through transynaptic activation of cerebellar Purkinje cells, which in turn inhibit the tonic activity of the CTC. Repetitive TMS (rTMS) delivered over the lateral cerebellum was shown to induce a long-lasting change of the cortical excitability, as well, but the mechanism and time course of this effect are still debated.Methods: We tested the time course of the effects of rTMS on the CBI in five paradigms: (1) 1 Hz rTMS, (2) continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS), and (3) intermittent TBS (iTBS) over the right cerebellum, (4) 1 Hz rTMS over the cervical nerve roots, and (5) 1 Hz rTMS over the left cerebellum. Surface electromyography was recorded from the right first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and adductor digiti minimi. A double-cone coil was used for single-pulse cerebellar stimulation, whereas a figure-of-eight coil was used for the rTMS. The stimulus intensity was set at 90% of the M1 resting motor threshold for 1 Hz rTMS, and at 80% of the M1 active motor threshold for TBS. Both types of cerebellar stimulation were performed under magnetic resonance image (MRI)-guided neuronavigation centered over the right VIII B lobule, and stimulation intensities were adjusted for cerebellar cortex depth. A figure-of-eight coil was used for left motor cortex stimulation.Results: There was significant CBI suppression to the left motor cortex up to 30 minutes after the 900 stimuli of 1 Hz rTMS over either cerebellar hemisphere, and after 600 stimuli of cTBS over the right cerebellum, but not after 600 stimuli of iTBS over the right cerebellum, or after 900 of 1 Hz rTMS stimuli delivered over the cervical nerve roots. The 1 Hz rTMS over the left cerebellum significantly reduced the CBI in the right FDI 10 minutes after the end of the intervention. The amplitudes of the unconditioned cortical motor-evoked potentials were not significantly changed.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that repetitive cerebellar stimulation operate at a cerebellar level, rather then at a cortical level.Long-lasting inhibition of cerebellar outputT. Popa, M. Russo, S. Meunier10.1016/j.brs.2009.10.001BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2009-11-02BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2009-11-0233S1935-861X(10)X0003-1Original Research161169http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X09001065/abstract?rss=yesThere is evidence that the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) may play a certain role in decision making related to reward value and time perception and, in particular, in the inhibitory control of impulsive decision making. Using the theta burst stimulation (TBS) and a delay discounting (DD) task, we investigated the potential role of right DLPFC in impulsive decision making defined by the rate of discounting delayed reward. Healthy right-handed volunteers underwent three stimulation sessions, intermittent TBS (iTBS), continuous TBS (cTBS), and sham. The steepness of the discount function (k-value), reaction time for choice and consistency were measured for each subjects. cTBS of the DLPFC reduced by 36.88 % the k-value of the DD task compared to sham condition. In contrast, iTBS did not affect impulsivity level. There were no changes neither in reaction time for choice nor consistency after either the iTBS or cTBS compared with the sham stimulation. These results demonstrate that cTBS-induced modulation of cortical excitability of the right DLPFC may affect and reduce impulsive decision making. These observations may provide some insights into the role of the right DLPFC in modulating impulsivity level and calculating reward value at different time scales under less ambiguous circumstances.Continuous theta burst stimulation of right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex induces changes in impulsivity levelSang Soo Cho, Ji Hyun Ko, Giovanna Pellecchia, Thilo Van Eimeren, Roberto Cilia, Antonio P. Strafella10.1016/j.brs.2009.10.002BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2009-11-02BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2009-11-0233S1935-861X(10)X0003-1Original Research170176http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X09000837/abstract?rss=yesBackground: Bupropion is associated with a dose-related increased seizure risk. This effect could correlate with a change in motor cortex excitability. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can assess changes in motor cortical excitability by measuring resting motor threshold (RMT).Methods: RMT was determined before and during 2 weeks concomitant administration of bupropion at two different doses (150 mg/d and 300 mg/d) in a 41-year-old woman enrolled in a study of repetitive TMS (rTMS) for the treatment of depression.Results: RMT was significantly lower when the patient took 300 mg/d of bupropion compared with no bupropion and 150 mg/d of bupropion. When bupropion was reduced to 150 mg, RMT returned to the premedication level.Conclusions: Bupropion 300 mg/d increased cortical excitability as demonstrated by decreased RMT. This finding emphasizes the importance of assessing RMT regularly during rTMS treatment, especially in the context of new or changed doses of medications.Bupropion decreases resting motor threshold: A case reportMustafa A. Mufti, Paul E. Holtzheimer, Charles M. Epstein, Sinéad C. Quinn, Nancie Vito, William M. McDonald10.1016/j.brs.2009.08.001BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2009-09-14BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2009-09-1433S1935-861X(10)X0003-1Short Communication177180http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X09001089/abstract?rss=yesTo the Editor: The antidepressant effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) have been recently demonstrated in a large randomized placebo-controlled multicenter trial and supported by critical reviews and meta-analyses. However, the clinical relevance of its efficacy is still critically discussed.Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) ameliorates therapy-resistant depression: A case seriesMaria Holzer, Frank Padberg10.1016/j.brs.2009.10.004BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2009-11-02BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2009-11-0233S1935-861X(10)X0003-1Letter to the Editor181183http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X10000951/abstract?rss=yesTable of Contents10.1016/S1935-861X(10)00095-1BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2010-07-01BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2010-07-0133S1935-861X(10)X0003-1FrontmatterA1A1http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X10001075/abstract?rss=yesMasthead10.1016/S1935-861X(10)00107-5BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2010-07-01BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2010-07-0133S1935-861X(10)X0003-1FrontmatterA2A2http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X10000975/abstract?rss=yesEditorial Board10.1016/S1935-861X(10)00097-5BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2010-07-01BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2010-07-0133S1935-861X(10)X0003-1FrontmatterA3A3http://www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/PIIS1935861X10001063/abstract?rss=yesInformation for Authors10.1016/S1935-861X(10)00106-3BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation 3, 3 (2010)2010-07-01BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation2010-07-0133S1935-861X(10)X0003-1FrontmatterA5A8