title: Transcranial magnetic stimulation has no placebo effect on motor learning.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Motor learning is the core cognitive function in neurorehabilitation and in various other skill-training activities (e.g. sport, music). Therefore, there is an increasing interest in the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) methods for its enhancement. However, although usually assumed, a potential placebo effect of TMS methods on motor learning has never been systematically investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Improvement of performance on the Purdue Pegboard Task over three test-blocks (T0, T1, and T2), separated by >20 min, was used to evaluate motor learning. In Experiment-1, two groups of 10 participants each were compared: one group immediately before T1 received a sham intermittent theta burst stimulation procedure (P-iTBS group), while another did not have any intervention at all (control - CON group). In Experiment-2, a third group of participants (six subjects) who received sham high-frequency repetitive TMS procedure before T1 (P-rTMS group) was compared with P-iTBS group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All three groups showed significant learning over time, but without any difference between them, either in Experiment-1 between P-iTBS and CON, or in Experiment-2 between P-rTMS and P-iTBS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest lack of any placebo effect of TMS on motor learning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results may help in designing further TMS-motor learning studies and in interpreting their results.
authors.affiliation: University of Belgrade, Institute for Medical Research, ul. Dr Subotića 4, 11129 Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Milan B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Jelić
authors.forename: Vuk B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Stevanović
authors.forename: Sladjan D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Milanović
authors.forename: Miloš R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Ljubisavljević
authors.forename: Saša R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Filipović
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D015990:Placebo Effect; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Brain plasticity; Motor learning; Neurorehabilitation; Placebo; Purdue pegboard; Transcranial magnetic stimulation