Abstract
In recent years there has been great interest in using non-invasive brain stimulation (NBS) techniques to induce functionally relevant neuroplastic change in the human cortex. Indeed, a number of approaches have been developed that can induce short lasting neuroplastic changes that interact with behavior in both healthy subjects and patients with neurological impairment ( Ridding and Rothwell, 2007 ) and likely involve the mechanisms of long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). However, the effects are, by and large, small and highly variable. There are many causes of this variability including age, gender and genetics ( Ridding and Ziemann, 2010 ). One area that has so far been little studied is the influence of hormones. One hormone that might be expected to exert important influences on the response to NBS techniques is the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol has well described effects on learning and memory function that is underpinned by LTP and LTD. We, and others, have provided preliminary data that cortisol might be an important modulator of the neuroplastic response to a number of NBS including paired associative stimulation (PAS) and continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS). In my talk I will describe these results and suggest future studies that might help further define these important influences on the response to NBS. Such information will be critical for optimal development of therapeutic NBS approaches.
Published Version
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