AUTHOR=Tan Hui-Xin , Wei Qing-Chuan , Chen Yi , Xie Yun-Juan , Guo Qi-Fan , He Lin , Gao Qiang 

TITLE=The Immediate Effects of Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation of the Cerebellar Vermis on Cerebral Cortical Excitability During a Balance Task in Healthy Individuals: A Pilot Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2021.748241

DOI=10.3389/fnhum.2021.748241

ISSN=1662-5161

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objective:</bold> This pilot study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of single-session intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) on the cerebellar vermis during a balance task, which could unveil the changes of cerebral cortical excitability in healthy individuals.</p><p><bold>Subjects:</bold> A total of seven right-handed healthy subjects (26.86 ± 5.30 years) were included in this study.</p><p><bold>Interventions:</bold> Each subject received single-session iTBS on cerebellar vermis in a sitting position.</p><p><bold>Main Measures:</bold> Before and after the intervention, all subjects were asked to repeat the balance task of standing on the left leg three times. Each task consisted of 15 s of standing and 20 s of resting. Real-time changes in cerebral cortex oxygen concentrations were monitored with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). During the task, changes in blood oxygen concentration were recorded and converted into the mean HbO<sub>2</sub> for statistical analysis.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> After stimulation, the mean HbO<sub>2</sub> in the left SMA (<italic>P</italic> = 0.029) and right SMA (<italic>P</italic> = 0.043) significantly increased compared with baseline. However, no significant changes of mean HbO<sub>2</sub> were found in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal lobe (<italic>P</italic> &gt; 0.05).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Single-session iTBS on the cerebellar vermis in healthy adults can increase the excitability of the cerebral cortex in the bilateral supplementary motor areas during balance tasks.</p><p><bold>Clinical Trial Registration:</bold> [<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">www.ClinicalTrials.gov</ext-link>], identifier [ChiCTR2100048915].</p>