Journal
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON
Volume 590, Issue 10, Pages 2365-2374Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2012.230540
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Funding
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
- Guarantors of Brain, an Association of British Neurologists
- REPLACES: Restorative Plasticity At Corticostriatal Excitatory Synapses [22 2918]
- NIHR
- MRC [MR/K00414X/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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Paired associative stimulation (PAS) is a method commonly used in human studies of motor cortex synaptic plasticity. It involves repeated pairs of electrical stimuli to the median nerve and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the motor cortex. If the interval between peripheral and TMS stimulation is around 21-25 ms, corticospinal excitability is increased for the following 30-60 min via a long term potentiation (LTP)-like effect within the primary motor cortex. Previouswork has shown that PAS depends on the present and previous levels of activity in cortex, and that it can bemodified by motor learning or attention. Herewe showthat simultaneous transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS; 2 mA) over the cerebellum can abolish the PAS effect entirely. Surprisingly, the effect is seen when the PAS interval is 25ms but not when it is 21.5ms. There are two implications fromthis work. First, the cerebellum influences PAS effects in motor cortex; second, LTP-like effects of PAS have at least two different mechanisms. The results are relevant for interpretation of pathological changes that have been reported in response to PAS in people with movement disorders and to changes in healthy individuals following exercise or other interventions.
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