title: Extending lifetime of plastic changes in the human brain.
abstract: The ability of the brain to adjust to changing environments and to recover from damage rests on its remarkable capacity to adapt through plastic changes of underlying neural networks. We show here with an eye movement paradigm that a lifetime of plastic changes can be extended to several hours by repeated applications of theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation to the frontal eye field of the human cortex. The results suggest that repeated application of the same stimulation protocol consolidates short-lived plasticity into long-lasting changes.
authors.affiliation: Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Department of Neurology, University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 10, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nyffeler
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wurtz
authors.forename: Hans-Rudolf
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Lüscher
authors.forename: Christian W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Hess
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Senn
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pflugshaupt
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: von Wartburg
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lüthi
authors.forename: René M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Müri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology*; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D013997:Time Factors; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods