INTER-INDIVIDUAL VARIABILITY ACROSS BRAIN REGIONS IN THETA BURST STIMULATION

Abstract

Individual responsiveness to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation varies widely, which affects the efficacy of FDA approved treatments, as well as clinical trials aimed at studying neurological disorders. Stimulation of the motor cortex is a commonly used protocol due to the clear physiological outputs it offers, and we aimed to take advantage of this observation to examine individual responsiveness. In this study, we investigated the correlation between Theta Burst Stimulation (TBS) protocols over the motor cortex and hippocampal subregions in order to assess the possible power of motor evoked potentials to predict an outcome measure for stimulation of a different brain region. Results show a non-significant, but meaningful ability for motor evoked potentials to predict change in memory performance for hippocampal stimulation during intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS). Further analysis with a larger sample size is needed to conclude significance.