Abstract
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is a non-invasive clinical therapy used to treat depression and migraine, and shows further promise as treatment for Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurological disorders. However, it is yet unclear as to how anatomical differences may affect stimulation from this treatment. We use finite element analysis to model and analyze the results of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in various head models. A number of heterogeneous head models have been developed using MRI data of real patients, including healthy individuals as well as patients of Parkinson’s disease. Simulations of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation performed on 22 anatomically different models highlight the differences in induced stimulation. A standard Figure of 8 coil is used with frequency 2.5 kHz, placed 5 mm above the head. We compare cortical stimulation, volume of brain tissue stimulated, specificity, and maximum E-field induced in the brain for models ranging from ages 20 to 60. Results show that stimulation varies drastically between patients of the same age and health status depending upon brain-scalp distance, which is not necessarily a linear progression with age.
Highlights
Assert that these structural difference may influence the stimulation of the brain during Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
We have shown Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation induced in models developed using data from the Human Connectome Project (HCP).[4]
To mimic clinical TMS, we define our stimulation threshold as half of the maximum E-field induced in a particular model, which is close to motor threshold (MT) for a healthy individual
Summary
Assert that these structural difference may influence the stimulation of the brain during TMS To study these effects and draw relationships between brain structure and stimulation effects, we compare results of TMS simulations on models of healthy individuals ( referred to as HCP models) and Parkinson’s patients (PPMI models) of varying ages. We compute maximum E-field (Emax) induced in the brain as well as total volume and surface of the brain which receives stimulation as well as the specificity of the induced E-field. We compare these effects for patients of varying ages and discuss the implications for brain stimulation
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