Transcranial magnetic stimulation in cognitive neuroscience--virtual lesion, chronometry, and functional connectivity.
Fifteen years after its introduction by Anthony Barker, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) appears to be 'coming of age' in cognitive neuroscience and promises to reshape the way we investigate brain-behavior relations. Among the many methods now available for imaging the activity of the human brain, magnetic stimulation is the only technique that allows us to interfere actively with brain function. As illustrated by several experiments over the past couple of years, this property of TMS allows us to investigate the relationship between focal cortical activity and behavior, to trace the timing at which activity in a particular cortical region contributes to a given task, and to map the functional connectivity between brain regions.
Pascual-Leone
A
A
Laboratory for Magnetic Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA. apleone@caregroup.harvard.edu
Walsh
V
V
Rothwell
J
J
D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D002909:Chronobiology Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D009488:Neurosciences / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation*