Causal evidence that intrinsic beta frequency is relevant for enhanced signal propagation in the motor system as shown through rhythmic TMS

Romei, Vincenzo; Bauer, Markus; Brooks, Joseph L.; Economides, Marcos; Penny, Will; Thut, Gregor; Driver, Jon; Bestmann, Sven

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.11.020

Causal evidence that intrinsic beta frequency is relevant for enhanced signal propagation in the motor system as shown through rhythmic TMS

Romei, Vincenzo; Bauer, Markus; Brooks, Joseph L.; Economides, Marcos; Penny, Will; Thut, Gregor; Driver, Jon; Bestmann, Sven

Authors

Vincenzo Romei

Markus Bauer

Joseph Brooks j.l.brooks@keele.ac.uk

Marcos Economides

Will Penny

Gregor Thut

Jon Driver

Sven Bestmann

Abstract

Correlative evidence provides support for the idea that brain oscillations underpin neural computations. Recent work using rhythmic stimulation techniques in humans provide causal evidence but the interactions of these external signals with intrinsic rhythmicity remain unclear. Here, we show that sensorimotor cortex follows externally applied rhythmic TMS (rTMS) stimulation in the beta-band but that the elicited responses are strongest at the intrinsic individual beta peak frequency. While these entrainment effects are of short duration, even subthreshold rTMS pulses propagate through the network and elicit significant cortico-spinal coupling, particularly when stimulated at the individual beta-frequency. Our results show that externally enforced rhythmicity interacts with intrinsic brain rhythms such that the individual peak frequency determines the effect of rTMS. The observed downstream spinal effect at the resonance frequency provides evidence for the causal role of brain rhythms for signal propagation.

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Nov 9, 2015
Online Publication Date	Nov 14, 2015
Publication Date	Feb 1, 2016
Publicly Available Date	May 26, 2023
Journal	NeuroImage
Print ISSN	1053-8119
Publisher	Elsevier
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	126
Pages	120 -130
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.11.020
Publisher URL	http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.11.020