Time-frequency analysis of short-lasting modulation of EEG induced by TMS during wake, sleep deprivation and sleep

Paolo Manganotti,Alessandra Bertoldo,Antonio Fiaschi,Silvia F Storti,Gianna M Toffolo,Alessandra Del Felice,Emanuela Formaggio,Alessandro Zamboni

doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00767

Paolo Manganotti, Alessandra Bertoldo + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00767

Copy DOI

Abstract

The occurrence of dynamic changes in spontaneous electroencephalogram (EEG) rhythms in the awake state or sleep is highly variable. These rhythms can be externally modulated during transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with a perturbation method to trigger oscillatory brain activity. EEG-TMS co-registration was performed during standard wake, during wake after sleep deprivation and in sleep in six healthy subjects. Dynamic changes in the regional neural oscillatory activity of the cortical areas were characterized using time-frequency analysis based on the wavelet method, and the modulation of induced oscillations were related to different vigilance states. A reciprocal synchronizing/desynchronizing effect on slow and fast oscillatory activity was observed in response to focal TMS after sleep deprivation and sleep. We observed a sleep-related slight desynchronization of alpha mainly over the frontal areas, and a widespread increase in theta synchronization. These findings could be interpreted as proof of the interference external brain stimulation can exert on the cortex, and how this could be modulated by the vigilance state. Potential clinical applications may include evaluation of hyperexcitable states such as epilepsy or disturbed states of consciousness such as minimal consciousness.

Highlights

Oscillatory human brain activity occurs at different frequencies (Niedermeyer, 1999) and can be rapidly modulated over the occipital regions by eyes opening and over the central parietal regions by movement and sensory stimulation
Most studies to date have focused on slow EEG responses evoked by a single magnetic stimulus in the time domain (Ilmoniemi et al, 1997; Izumi et al, 1997; Paus et al, 1998, 2001; Komssi et al, 2002; Thut et al, 2003; Bonato et al, 2006; Thut and Pascual-Leone, 2010; Del Felice et al, 2011) by investigating more complex and widespread brain oscillatory activity induced by external stimulation (Thut and Miniussi, 2009)
A similar pattern was observed over the central electrodes (C3Cz-C4): during the wake state and after sleep deprivation, the power decreased over baseline during the first 1-s period, followed by an increase lasting from 1 to 2 s, which was clearly visible over C3

Summary

Introduction

Oscillatory human brain activity occurs at different frequencies (Niedermeyer, 1999) and can be rapidly modulated over the occipital regions by eyes opening and over the central parietal regions by movement and sensory stimulation. Single-pulse TMS (Paus et al, 2001; Fuggetta et al, 2005; Van Der Werf et al, 2006; Rosanova et al, 2009; Manganotti et al, 2012) or a TMS pulse train (Brignani et al, 2008; Fuggetta et al, 2008; Plewnia et al, 2008; Noh et al, 2012) induce synchronous rhythmic rapid brain activity that preferably oscillates in the natural frequency of the target site. Such an experimental paradigm was proposed by Johnson et al as a way to clarify the behavioral effects of TMS, e.g., by studying TMS-induced oscillatory activity modifications (Johnson et al, 2010)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion