title: Network based statistical analysis detects changes induced by continuous theta-burst stimulation on brain activity at rest.
abstract: We combined continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) and resting state (RS)-fMRI approaches to investigate changes in functional connectivity (FC) induced by right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)-cTBS at rest in a group of healthy subjects. Seed-based fMRI analysis revealed a specific pattern of correlation between the right prefrontal cortex and several brain regions: based on these results, we defined a 29-node network to assess changes in each network connection before and after, respectively, DLPFC-cTBS and sham sessions. A decrease of correlation between the right prefrontal cortex and right parietal cortex (Brodmann areas 46 and 40, respectively) was detected after cTBS, while no significant result was found when analyzing sham-session data. To our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates within-subject changes in FC induced by cTBS applied on prefrontal area. The possibility to induce selective changes in a specific region without interfering with functionally correlated area could have several implications for the study of functional properties of the brain, and for the emerging therapeutic strategies based on transcranial stimulation.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia , Rome , Italy ; Department of Neuroscience, Trieste University , Trieste , Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mastropasqua
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bozzali
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Viviana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ponzo
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giulietti
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia , Rome , Italy ; Department of Neuroscience, University of Rome Tor Vergata , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caltagirone
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia , Rome , Italy ; Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex , Falmer , UK.
authors.forename: Mara
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cercignani
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Behavioural Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia , Rome , Italy ; Department of Neuroscience, University of Rome Tor Vergata , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koch
keywords: cTBS; dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; fronto-parietal network; functional connectivity; resting state fMRI