title: cTBS delivered to the left somatosensory cortex changes its functional connectivity during rest.
abstract: The primary somatosensory cortex (SI) plays a critical role in somatosensation as well as in action performance and social cognition. Although the SI has been a major target of experimental and clinical research using non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), to date information on the effect of TMS over the SI on its resting-state functional connectivity is very scant. Here, we explored whether continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS), a repetitive TMS protocol, administered over the SI can change the functional connectivity of the brain at rest, as measured using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). In a randomized order on two different days we administered active TMS or sham TMS over the left SI. TMS was delivered off-line before scanning by means of cTBS. The target area was selected previously and individually for each subject as the part of the SI activated both when the participant executes and observes actions. Three analytical approaches, both theory driven (partial correlations and seed based whole brain regression) and more data driven (Independent Component Analysis), indicated a reduction in functional connectivity between the stimulated part of the SI and several brain regions functionally associated with the SI including the dorsal premotor cortex, the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and anterior cingulate cortex. These findings highlight the impact of cTBS delivered over the SI on its functional connectivity at rest. Our data may have implications for experimental and therapeutic applications of cTBS over the SI.
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.|Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen.
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Valchev
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.|Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen.
authors.forename: Branislava
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ćurčić-Blake
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Remco J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Renken
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Center for studies and research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Cesena Campus, University of Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Avenanti
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen.|Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Keysers
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen.|Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gazzola
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.|Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Natasha M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Maurits
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Connectivity; Primary somatosensory cortex; Resting-state; cTBS