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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 562/1/295    most recent jphysiol.2004.070755v1 Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Matsunaga, K. Articles by Rothwell, J. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Matsunaga, K. Articles by Rothwell, J. C.

¹ Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
² Department of Neurology, Kumamoto Kinoh Hospital, Kumamoto, Japan
³ Department of Neurology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Medicine, Kitakyushu, Japan
⁴ Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
⁵ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Keio University, School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can produce effects not only at the site of stimulation but also at distant sites to which it projects. Here we examined the connection between supplementary motor area (SMA) and the hand area of the primary motor cortex (M1_Hand) by testing whether prolonged repetitive TMS (rTMS) over the SMA can produce changes in excitability of the M1_Hand after the end of the stimulus train. We evaluated motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) and the cortical silent period (CSP) evoked by a single-pulse TMS, short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF) produced by a paired-pulse TMS, and forearm flexor H reflexes before and after 750 pulses of 5 Hz rTMS over SMA at an intensity of 110% active motor threshold (AMT) for the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscle. The amplitude of MEPs recorded from the right FDI muscle at rest as well as during voluntary contraction increased for at least 10 min after the end of rTMS, although the duration of the CSP, SICI and ICF did not change. There was no effect on H reflexes in the flexor carpi radialis muscle, even though the amplitude of the MEP obtained from the same muscle increased after rTMS. The effects on MEPs depended on the intensity of rTMS and were spatially specific to the SMA proper. We suggest that 5 Hz rTMS over SMA can induce a short-lasting facilitation in excitability of the M1_Hand compatible with the anatomical connections between SMA and the M1_Hand.

(Received 1 July 2004; accepted after revision 22 October 2004; first published online 28 October 2004)
Corresponding author J. C. Rothwell: Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, Institute of Neurology, 8–11 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK. Email: j.rothwell{at}ion.ucl.ac.uk

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