Neural Noise

Combined TMS and tACS neuroplasticity in tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease

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  • Combined TMS and transcranial alternating current stimulation can induce neuroplasticity in tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease.1
  • The finding supports dual-stimulation protocols for movement disorders and tES motor neuromodulation.1 1

Weekly enrichment (2026-07-20)

  • The study (Clinical Neurophysiology, 2025; PMID 40562594) tested concurrent intermittent theta-burst stimulation plus gamma-frequency tACS (iTBS-γ-tACS) over the motor cortex in tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease.23
  • Sample: 18 individuals (mean age 66.8 ± 10.0 years, 6 female), each attending two sessions—real iTBS-γ-tACS versus sham (real iTBS with sham tACS).23
  • Outcomes measured before and after stimulation were corticospinal excitability (motor evoked potential amplitude), intracortical inhibition (SICI), and resting tremor severity.2
  • Real iTBS-γ-tACS significantly increased corticospinal excitability in the target first dorsal interosseous muscle, sustained for at least 20 minutes, whereas sham did not.24
  • Intracortical inhibition and tremor severity were not significantly modulated by either condition.23
  • The authors interpret this as long-term-potentiation-like neuroplastic change in the target muscle representation—the first demonstration that iTBS-γ-tACS induces neuroplasticity in tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease.23
  • They suggest future work target the cortical representation of the tremor-dominant muscle and/or use multi-session protocols to translate plasticity into tremor reduction.23
  • BCI/neuromodulation implication: dual noninvasive protocols can engage cortical plasticity in Parkinson’s disease, but a single session over hand-muscle cortex is insufficient to suppress resting tremor.24

Footnotes

  1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1388245725006285?dgcid=rss_sd_all ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2025.2110776 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40562594/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brs.2024.12.694 ↩ ↩2

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