Abstract
Transcranial static magnetic stimulation (tSMS) has been known to reduce human cortical excitability. Here, we investigated whether tSMS would modulate visuo-spatial cognition in healthy humans. Subjects performed a visuo-spatial task requiring judgements about the symmetry of pre-bisected lines. Visual stimuli consisted of symmetrically or asymmetrically transected lines, tachystoscopically presented for 150 ms on a computer monitor. Task performance was examined before, immediately after, and 10 min after tSMS/sham stimulation of 20 min over the posterior parietal cortex (PPC: P4 from the international 10–20 system) or superior temporal gyrus (STG: C6). Nine out of 16 subjects misjudged pre-bisected lines by consistently underestimating the length of the right-side segment (judging lines to be exactly pre-bisected when the transector was located to the left of the midpoint, or judging the left-side segment to be longer when the transector was located at the midpoint). In these subjects showing a leftward bias, tSMS over the right STG reduced the magnitude of the leftward bias. This did not occur with tSMS over the right PPC or sham stimulation. In the remaining right-biased subjects, no intervention effect was observed with any stimulation. Our findings indicate that application of tSMS over the right STG modulates visuo-spatial cognition in healthy adults.
Highlights
In a last decade, a number of studies have demonstrated that the excitability of cerebral cortices is suppressed by “transcranial static magnetic field stimulation” [1], in which the scalp is exposed toBrain Sci. 2020, 10, 1006; doi:10.3390/brainsci10121006 www.mdpi.com/journal/brainsciBrain Sci. 2020, 10, 1006 moderate-intensity static magnetic fields (SMFs) by a strong cylindrical neodymium, iron and boron (NdFeB) permanent magnet
Given that the magnet used for Transcranial static magnetic stimulation (tSMS) is safer, cheaper, and easier to use as compared to the other conventional non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques, tSMS has the attractive potential to be used in clinical practice to alleviate symptoms of various central nervous system diseases
Given the inhibitory characteristic of tSMS, as a first step towards clinical applications of this new tool in this area, we investigated whether tSMS on the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) or superior temporal gyrus (STG) would have the same effect of reducing a bias in healthy adults in the present study
Summary
A number of studies have demonstrated that the excitability of cerebral cortices is suppressed by “transcranial static magnetic field stimulation (tSMS)” [1], in which the scalp is exposed to. Brain Sci. 2020, 10, 1006 moderate-intensity (about 100 to 200 mT) static magnetic fields (SMFs) by a strong cylindrical neodymium, iron and boron (NdFeB) permanent magnet. Experimental evidence clearly indicates such suppressive effect in primate as well as non-primate animals [2,3]. With the growth of research activities, this novel method has recently been recognized as a member of inhibitory non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques, such as low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) [4], continuous theta-burst stimulation [5], and cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) [6]. TSMS’s ability to reduce the amplitude of intra-epidermal electrical stimulation-evoked potentials [15] may lead to the development of chronic pain management
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