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CLINICAL TRIAL article

Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Perception Science
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1501169

Effect of Motor Process Related Priming Via Repeated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Embodiment Perception During Mirror Visual Feedback: A Pilot Study

Provisionally accepted
Ying Li Ying Li 1Ping Li Ping Li 1Yixuan Li Yixuan Li 1Jia Wang Jia Wang 1Xinyao Shen Xinyao Shen 1Mingyong Zhang Mingyong Zhang 1Li Ding Li Ding 2*
  • 1 Luqiao Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Taizhou, China
  • 2 Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Non-invasive brain stimulation has been combined with mirror visual feedback (MVF) as a priming strategy to enhance therapeutic efficacy. However, a superior combined effect is hindered by the lack of emphasis on MVF-relevant embodiment perception. Objective: This study assessed the priming effect of repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the primary motor cortex (M1) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) on embodiment perception during MVF. Methods: In the experiment, 15 healthy participants were required to complete tasks using their left hand while keeping their right hand static behind a mirror. They first received excitatory TMS over the left M1 or dlPFC or sham TMS in random order during three trial rounds and then performed three subsequent motor tasks and two task-oriented evaluations during MVF in each trial. Latency time (LT), number of embodiment occurrences, embodiment questionnaire (EQ) score, and time required to complete the task-oriented activities were recorded.The results showed that the LT of forearm rotation in the DLPFC-TMS round was shorter than that in the sham-TMS round; although a greater number of occurrences was obtained in both the M1-TMS and dlPFC-TMS rounds compared to the sham-TMS round within the three motor tasks, which suggested TMS priming facilitated the elicitation of embodiment perception. The EQ results indicated strengthened embodiment perception after TMS priming, especially in the dlPFC-TMS round.This study provides evidence that TMS priming over motor process-related regions, specifically the dlPFC, contributes to eliciting and intensifying embodiment perception during MVF, which benefited from a superior MVF paradigm for improving rehabilitation outcomes.

    Keywords: mirror visual feedback, embodiment perception, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Motor process, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex Trial Registry: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2400089499)

    Received: 24 Sep 2024; Accepted: 07 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Li, Li, Wang, Shen, Zhang and Ding. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Li Ding, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.