Impact of Prefrontal Theta Burst Stimulation on Clinical Neuropsychological Tasks
Theta burst stimulation (TBS) protocols hold high promise in neuropsychological rehabilitation. Nevertheless, their ability to either decrease (continuous, cTBS) or increase (intermittent, iTBS) cortical excitability in areas other than the primary motor cortex, and their consistency modulating huma...
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doaj-5f50b34269734afe9f49ab0b16c5da8b2020-11-24T22:36:34ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2017-08-011110.3389/fnins.2017.00462287193Impact of Prefrontal Theta Burst Stimulation on Clinical Neuropsychological TasksRaquel Viejo-Sobera0Raquel Viejo-Sobera1Diego Redolar-Ripoll2Mercè Boixadós3Marc Palaus4Antoni Valero-Cabré5Antoni Valero-Cabré6Antoni Valero-Cabré7Elena M. Marron8Cognitive NeuroLab, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de CatalunyaBarcelona, SpainLaboratory for Neuropsychiatry and Neuromodulation, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical SchoolBoston, MA, United StatesCognitive NeuroLab, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de CatalunyaBarcelona, SpainCognitive NeuroLab, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de CatalunyaBarcelona, SpainCognitive NeuroLab, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de CatalunyaBarcelona, SpainCognitive NeuroLab, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de CatalunyaBarcelona, SpainCerebral Dynamics Plasticity and Rehabilitation Group, Frontlab, Institut du Cerveau et la Moelle Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique UMR 725, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale 1127 and UPMCParis, FranceLaboratory for Cerebral Dynamics Plasticity and Rehabilitation, Boston University School of MedicineBoston, MA, United StatesCognitive NeuroLab, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de CatalunyaBarcelona, SpainTheta burst stimulation (TBS) protocols hold high promise in neuropsychological rehabilitation. Nevertheless, their ability to either decrease (continuous, cTBS) or increase (intermittent, iTBS) cortical excitability in areas other than the primary motor cortex, and their consistency modulating human behaviors with clinically relevant tasks remain to be fully established. The behavioral effects of TBS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) are particularly interesting given its involvement in working memory (WM) and executive functions (EF), often impaired following frontal brain damage. We aimed to explore the ability of cTBS and iTBS to modulate WM and EF in healthy individuals, assessed with clinical neuropsychological tests (Digits Backward, 3-back task, Stroop Test, and Tower of Hanoi). To this end, 36 participants were assessed using the four tests 1 week prior to stimulation and immediately following a single session of either cTBS, iTBS, or sham TBS, delivered to the left dlPFC. No significant differences were found across stimulation conditions in any of the clinical tasks. Nonetheless, in some of them, active stimulation induced significant pre/post performance modulations, which were not found for the sham condition. More specifically, sham stimulation yielded improvements in the 3-back task and the Color, Color-Word, and Interference Score of the Stroop Test, an effect likely caused by task practice. Both, iTBS and cTBS, produced improvements in Digits Backward and impairments in 3-back task accuracy. Moreover, iTBS increased Interference Score in the Stroop Test in spite of the improved word reading and impaired color naming, whereas cTBS decreased the time required to complete the Tower of Hanoi. Differing from TBS outcomes reported for cortico-spinal measures on the primary motor cortex, our analyses did not reveal any of the expected performance differences across stimulation protocols. However, if one considers independently pre/post differences for each individual outcome measure and task, either one or both of the active protocols appeared to modulate WM and EF. We critically discuss the value, potential explanations, and some plausible interpretations for this set of subtle impacts of left dlPFC TBS in humans.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2017.00462/fulltranscranial magnetic stimulationnon-invasive brain stimulationstroop testn-backtower of hanoiworking memory |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Raquel Viejo-Sobera Raquel Viejo-Sobera Diego Redolar-Ripoll Mercè Boixadós Marc Palaus Antoni Valero-Cabré Antoni Valero-Cabré Antoni Valero-Cabré Elena M. Marron |
spellingShingle |
Raquel Viejo-Sobera Raquel Viejo-Sobera Diego Redolar-Ripoll Mercè Boixadós Marc Palaus Antoni Valero-Cabré Antoni Valero-Cabré Antoni Valero-Cabré Elena M. Marron Impact of Prefrontal Theta Burst Stimulation on Clinical Neuropsychological Tasks Frontiers in Neuroscience transcranial magnetic stimulation non-invasive brain stimulation stroop test n-back tower of hanoi working memory |
author_facet |
Raquel Viejo-Sobera Raquel Viejo-Sobera Diego Redolar-Ripoll Mercè Boixadós Marc Palaus Antoni Valero-Cabré Antoni Valero-Cabré Antoni Valero-Cabré Elena M. Marron |
author_sort |
Raquel Viejo-Sobera |
title |
Impact of Prefrontal Theta Burst Stimulation on Clinical Neuropsychological Tasks |
title_short |
Impact of Prefrontal Theta Burst Stimulation on Clinical Neuropsychological Tasks |
title_full |
Impact of Prefrontal Theta Burst Stimulation on Clinical Neuropsychological Tasks |
title_fullStr |
Impact of Prefrontal Theta Burst Stimulation on Clinical Neuropsychological Tasks |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impact of Prefrontal Theta Burst Stimulation on Clinical Neuropsychological Tasks |
title_sort |
impact of prefrontal theta burst stimulation on clinical neuropsychological tasks |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Neuroscience |
issn |
1662-453X |
publishDate |
2017-08-01 |
description |
Theta burst stimulation (TBS) protocols hold high promise in neuropsychological rehabilitation. Nevertheless, their ability to either decrease (continuous, cTBS) or increase (intermittent, iTBS) cortical excitability in areas other than the primary motor cortex, and their consistency modulating human behaviors with clinically relevant tasks remain to be fully established. The behavioral effects of TBS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) are particularly interesting given its involvement in working memory (WM) and executive functions (EF), often impaired following frontal brain damage. We aimed to explore the ability of cTBS and iTBS to modulate WM and EF in healthy individuals, assessed with clinical neuropsychological tests (Digits Backward, 3-back task, Stroop Test, and Tower of Hanoi). To this end, 36 participants were assessed using the four tests 1 week prior to stimulation and immediately following a single session of either cTBS, iTBS, or sham TBS, delivered to the left dlPFC. No significant differences were found across stimulation conditions in any of the clinical tasks. Nonetheless, in some of them, active stimulation induced significant pre/post performance modulations, which were not found for the sham condition. More specifically, sham stimulation yielded improvements in the 3-back task and the Color, Color-Word, and Interference Score of the Stroop Test, an effect likely caused by task practice. Both, iTBS and cTBS, produced improvements in Digits Backward and impairments in 3-back task accuracy. Moreover, iTBS increased Interference Score in the Stroop Test in spite of the improved word reading and impaired color naming, whereas cTBS decreased the time required to complete the Tower of Hanoi. Differing from TBS outcomes reported for cortico-spinal measures on the primary motor cortex, our analyses did not reveal any of the expected performance differences across stimulation protocols. However, if one considers independently pre/post differences for each individual outcome measure and task, either one or both of the active protocols appeared to modulate WM and EF. We critically discuss the value, potential explanations, and some plausible interpretations for this set of subtle impacts of left dlPFC TBS in humans. |
topic |
transcranial magnetic stimulation non-invasive brain stimulation stroop test n-back tower of hanoi working memory |
url |
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2017.00462/full |
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