Occipital long-interval paired pulse TMS leads to slow wave components in NREM sleep

What is it about?

When occipital cortex is stimulated by two successive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulses separated by 0.1 sec the brain EEG response to the pulses depends on the state of the subject. When (s)he is awake and alert in the conscious state, the brain response to the second pulse is suppressed. When the subject is most likely unconscious during non-REM sleep, the second pulse produces slow bioelectric potential waves similar to sleep slow waves obtained in different earlier studies.

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Why is it important?

1. These results can be used as a departure point for developing a perturbational (TMS/EEG) method for assessing / monitoring the state of the subject, e.g., a patient undergoing general anesthesia procedures. This development requires interim research for replicating this effect in the anesthetic state. 2. While double-pulse protocols of TMS are typically using very short inter-pulse intervals, this study showde usefulness of 0.1-sec intervall protocols. 3. Similarly, a novel aspect of occipital TMS consists in its use for consciousness state studies in addition to the consciousness contents studies.