Introduction: Among eating disorders, the binge eating is the most common disorder with prevalence to 7,8%. It is frequently connected with overweight, or obesity. Current treatment of binge eating is based on psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy and regime approach. Recently, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation appears as hopeful therapeutic method, for example used with success as an alternative therapy to treatment of resistant major depresion. Because of its non-invasiveness, good tolerability and minimal side effects, new options of its use are studied. It seems to be a promising therapeutic method for treatment of eating disorders. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is considered as main experimental target of stimulation for treatment of binge eating disorder. Methods: Study was conceived randomized double-blind placebo controlled. The active group was stimulated by high-frequency rTMS, with stimulation parameters: frequency 10Hz, 1500 pulses, 107s inter-train, 100 % minimal motor threshold and 10 sessions of stimulation. The control grooup was stimulated by sham rTMS coil. Both groups completed FCQ-S and FCQ- T questionnaire before stimulation, after 10. session and one month after 10. session. Results: We noticed statistically significant decrease of craving in FCQ-S questionnaire after 10. session...

The purpose of this systematic review is to provide insight into the impact traumatic brain injury (TBI) has on the executive function known as the working memory. TBI is a damage to the brain that occurs when the brain is critically injured to the degree that it impacts several brain regions and functions such as the hippocampus, its surrounding areas, the prefrontal cortex, and the performance of the working memory ability. TBI may occur from bleeding or infraction (stroke), lack of oxygen after cardiac arrest (anoxic brain injury), or diseases such as brain tumours or infections in the brain (encephalitis/meningitis). Working memory is the ability that maintains and manipulates information such as judgment and decision-making. TBI impacts several cognitive and executive functions such as the working memory. The implications that TBI has on working memory is that it relatively decreases the activation and connectivity capacity among the main areas of the working memory network which may result in difficulties of attention and concentration. This review summarises five studies about TBI and working memory that uses different working memory task while examiningwith brain imaging techniques. The studies conclude that TBI has a negative impact on working memory since the ability becomes weak.

Alpha oscillations (8-13 Hz) have been suggested to play an important role in dynamic neural processes underlying learning and memory. The goal of this work was to scrutinize the role of alpha oscillations in communication within a cortico-cerebellar network implicated in motor sequence learning. To this end, we conducted two EEG experiments using a serial reaction time task. In the first experiment, we explored changes in alpha power and cross-channel alpha coherence as subjects learned a motor sequence. We found a gradual decrease in spectral alpha power over left premotor cortex (PMC) and sensorimotor cortex (SM1) during learning blocks. In addition, alpha coherence between left PMC/SM1 and left cerebellar crus I was specifically decreased during sequence learning, possibly reflecting a functional decoupling in the broader motor learning network. In the second experiment in a different cohort, we applied 10Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), a method shown to entrain local oscillatory activity, to left M1 (lM1) and right cerebellum (rCB) during sequence learning. We observed a tendency for diminished learning following rCB tACS compared to sham, but not following lM1 tACS. Learning-related alpha power following rCB tACS was increased in left PMC, possibly reflecting increase in local inhibitory neural activity. Importantly, learning-specific alpha coherence between left PMC and right cerebellar lobule VIIb was enhanced following rCB tACS. These findings provide strong evidence for a causal role of alpha oscillations in controlling information transfer in a premotor-cerebellar loop during motor sequence learning. Our findings are consistent with a model in which sequence learning may be impaired by enhancing premotor cortical alpha oscillation via external modulation of cerebellar oscillations.:1 List of Abbreviations 2 Introduction 2.1 Motor Learning Stages 2.2 Motor Learning Tasks 2.3 Motor Learning Network 2.4 Theoretical Models of Motor Learning 2.5 Functional Connectivity of Motor Brain Regions 2.6 Effective Connectivity of Motor Brain Regions 2.7 Oscillations in Neuronal Communication 2.8 Alpha Oscillations 2.8.1 Role of Alpha Oscillations in Motor Sequence Learning 2.9 Transcranial Electric Stimulation 2.9.1 Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) 2.10 Summary of Study Rationale 3 Publication 4 Summary 5 List of References 6 Supplementary Materials 7 Contribution of Authors / Darstellung des eigenen Beitrags 8 Declaration of Authorship 9 Curriculum Vitae 10 Publication and Presentation 11 Acknowledgement / Danksagung

Motion-selectivity in human visual cortex comprises a number of different cortical loci including V1, V2, V3A, V3B, hV5/MT+ and V6 (Wandell et al., 2007). This thesis sought to investigate the specific functions of V3A and sub-divisions of hV5/MT+ (TO-1 and TO-2) by using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to transiently disrupt cortical activations within these areas during psychophysical tasks of motion perception. The tasks were chosen to coincide with previous non-human primate and human neuroimaging literature; translational, radial and rotational direction discrimination tasks and identification of the position of a focus of expansion. These results assert that TO-1 and TO-2 are functionally distinct subdivisions of hV5/MT+, as we have shown that both TO-1 and TO-2 are responsible for processing translational motion direction whilst only TO-2 is responsible for processing radial motion direction. In ipsilateral space, it was found that TO-1 and TO-2 both contribute to the processing of ipsilateral translational motion. Taken in a wider context, further results also suggested that these areas may form part of a network of cortical areas contributing to perception of self-motion (heading/egomotion), as TO-2 was not found to be responsible for processing the position of the central focus of expansion (imperative for self-direction). Instead, area V3A has been implicated as functionally responsible for processing this attribute of vision. Overall it is clear that TO-1, TO-2 and V3A have specific, distinct functions that contribute towards both parallel and serial motion processing pathways within the human brain. / Life Science Research

Maximum voluntary contraction force (MVC) is an important predictor of athletic performance as well as physical fitness throughout life. Many everyday life activities involve multi-joint or whole-body movements that are determined in part through optimized muscle strength. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been reported to enhance muscle strength parameters in single-joint movements after its application to motor cortical areas, although tDCS effects on maximum isometric voluntary contraction force (MIVC) in compound movements remain to be investigated. Here, we tested whether anodal tDCS and/or sham stimulation over primary motor cortex (M1) and cerebellum (CB) improves MIVC during isometric barbell squats (iBS). Our results provide novel evidence that CB stimulation enhances MIVC during iBS. Although this indicates that parameters relating to muscle strength can be modulated through anodal tDCS of the cerebellum, our results serve as an initial reference point and need to be extended. Therefore, further studies are necessary to expand knowledge in this area of research through the inclusion of different tDCS paradigms, for example investigating dynamic barbell squats, as well as testing other whole-body movements.

The resection of tumors within the primary motor cortex is a constant challenge. Although tractography may help in preoperative planning, it has limited application. While it can give valuable information on subcortical fibers, it is less accurate in the cortical layer of the brain. A 38-year-old patient presented with paresis of the right hand and focal epileptic seizures due to a tumor in the left precentral gyrus. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was not applicable due to seizures, so microsurgical resection was performed with preoperative tractography and intraoperative direct electrical stimulation. A histopathological assessment revealed a diagnosis of glioblastoma. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed complete resection. The paresis dissolved completely during follow-up. Surgery within the precentral gyrus is of high risk and requires multimodal functional planning. If interpreted with vigilance and consciousness of the underlying physical premises, tractography can provide helpful information within its limitations, which is especially subcortically. However, it may also help in the identification of functional cortex columns of the brain in the presence of a tumor.

Transferring a unimanual motor skill to the untrained hand, a phenomenon known as cross-limb transfer, was shown to deteriorate as a function of age. While transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) ipsilateral to the trained hand facilitated cross-limb transfer in older adults, little is known about the contribution of the contralateral hemisphere to cross-limb transfer. In the present study, we investigated whether tDCS facilitates cross-limb transfer in older adults when applied over the motor cortex (M1) contralateral to the trained hand. Furthermore, the study aimed at investigating short-term recovery of tDCS-associated cross-limb transfer. In a randomized, doubleblinded, sham-controlled setting, 30 older adults (67.0 4.6 years, 15 female) performed a short grooved-pegboard training using their left hand, while anodal (a-tDCS) or sham-tDCS (s-tDCS) was applied over right M1 for 20 min. Left (LHtrained) - and right-hand (RHuntrained) performance was tested before and after training and in three recovery measures 15, 30 and 45 min after training. LHtrained performance improved during both a-tDCS and s-tDCS and improvements persisted during recovery measures for at least 45 min. RHuntrained performance improved only following a-tDCS but not after s-tDCS and outlasted the stimulation period for at least 45 min. Together, these data indicate that tDCS over the M1 contralateral to the trained limb is capable of enhancing cross-limb transfer in older adults, thus showing that cross-limb transfer is mediated not only by increased bi-hemispheric activation.

<p>Temporal order judgment (TOJ) refers to one’s ability to successively report the temporal order of two tactile stimuli delivered to independent skin sites. The brain regions involved in processing TOJ remain unclear. Research has shown that TOJ performance can be impaired with a conditioning background stimuli and this phenomenon, known as TOJ synchronization (TOJ-S), is suggested to be mediated by inhibitory neural mechanisms within the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) that create perceptual binding across the two skin sites. Continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) over SI impairs tactile spatial and temporal acuity. This dissertation examines the effects of cTBS on TOJ and TOJ-S performance on the hand. In Experiment 1, TOJ and TOJ-S were measured from the right hand before and for up to 34 minutes following 50 Hz cTBS over SI. In Experiment 2, same measurements were obtained bilaterally for up to 42 minutes following 30 Hz cTBS over SI. Compared to pre-cTBS values, TOJ was impaired for up to 42 minutes on the right hand following 30 Hz cTBS. TOJ-S performance was improved for up to 18 minutes on the right hand following 50 Hz cTBS. These experiments reveal two major findings. First, cTBS act upon different inhibitory circuits that are suggested to mediate TOJ and TOJ-S. Second, cTBS parameters may dictate cTBS effects over SI excitability. The findings of this work not only emphasize the significant contributions of SI on tactile temporal perception, it provides novel insight of the underlying neural mechanisms of cTBS effects on SI cortical excitability.</p> / Master of Science in Kinesiology

Numerical cognition has been shown to share many aspects of spatial cognition, both behavioural and neurological. However, it is unclear whether a particular type of spatial cognition, visuospatial mental imagery (VSMI), may play a role in symbolic numerical representation. In this thesis, I first show that mental rotation, a form of VSMI, is related to two measures of basic numerical representation. I then show that number-space synaesthesia (NSS), a rare type of VSMI involving visualised spatial layouts for numbers, does not show an advantage in mental rotation, but shows interference in number line mapping. I next present a study investigating links between NSS and the ability to learn novel numerical symbols. I demonstrate that NSS shows an advantage at learning novel numerals, and that transcranial random noise stimulation, which increases cortical excitability, confers broadly similar advantages that nonetheless differ in subtle ways. I present a study of transcranial alternating current stimulation on the same symbol learning paradigm, which fails to demonstrate effects. Lastly, I present data showing that strength of numerical representation in these newly-learnt symbols is correlated with a measure of mental rotation, and also with visual recognition ability for the symbols after, but not before, training. All together, these findings suggest that VSMI does indeed play a role in numerical cognition, and that it may do so from an early stage of learning symbolic numbers.

Résumé : L’interaction entre la douleur et le système moteur est bien connue en clinique et en réadaptation. Il est sans surprise que la douleur est un phénomène considérablement invalidant, affectant la qualité de vie de ceux et celles qui en souffrent. Toutefois, les bases neurophysiologiques qui sous-tendent cette interaction demeurent, encore aujourd’hui, mal comprises. Le but de la présente étude était de mieux comprendre les mécanismes corticaux impliqués dans l’interaction entre la douleur et le système moteur. Pour ce faire, une douleur expérimentale a été induite à l’aide d’une crème à base de capsaïcine au niveau de l’avant-bras gauche des participants. L'effet de la douleur sur la force des projections corticospinales ainsi que sur l’activité cérébrale a été mesuré à l’aide de la stimulation magnétique transcrânienne (TMS) et de l’électroencéphalographie (EEG), respectivement. L’analyse des données EEG a permis de révéler qu'en présence de douleur aiguë, il y a une augmentation de l’activité cérébrale au niveau du cuneus central (fréquence têta), du cortex dorsolatéral préfrontal gauche (fréquence alpha) ainsi que du cuneus gauche et de l'insula droite (toutes deux fréquence bêta), lorsque comparée à la condition initiale (sans douleur). Également, les analyses démontrent une augmentation de l'activité du cortex moteur primaire droit en présence de douleur, mais seulement chez les participants qui présentaient simultanément une diminution de leur force de projections corticales (mesurée avec la TMS t=4,45, p<0,05). Ces participants ont également montré une plus grande connectivité entre M1 et le cuneus que les participants dont la douleur n’a pas affecté la force des projections corticospinales (t=3,58, p<0,05). Ces résultats suggèrent qu’une douleur expérimentale induit, chez certains individus, une altération au niveau des forces de projections corticomotrices. Les connexions entre M1 et le cuneus seraient possiblement impliquées dans la survenue de ces changements corticomoteurs. / Abstract : The interaction between pain and the motor system is well-known in clinic. For instance, it is well documented that pain significantly complicates the rehabilitation of the patients. The aim of the present study was to better understand the cortical mechanisms underlying the interaction between pain and the motor system. Nineteen healthy adults participated in the study. The effect of pain (induced with a capsaicin cream) on brain activity and on the corticomotor system was assessed with electroencephalography (EEG) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), respectively. For EEG, 15 non-overlapping, 2-seconds artifacts were randomly selected for each participant. Intracranial source current density and functional connectivity was determined using sLORETA software. When participants experienced experimentally-induced inflammatory pain, their resting state brain activity increased significantly in the central cuneus (theta frequency), left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (alpha frequency), and both left cuneus and right insula (beta frequency; all ts >3.66; all ps<0.01). A pain-evoked increase in the right primary motor cortex (M1) activity was also observed (beta frequency), but only among participants who showed a simultaneous reduction in the strength of the corticospinal projections (quantified using the recruitment curves obtained with TMS; t=4.45, p<0.05). These participants further showed greater beta motor-cuneus connectivity than participants for whom pain did not affect M1 somatotopy (t=3.58, p<0.05). These results suggest that pain-evoked increases in M1 beta power are intimately tied to alterations in corticospinal system. Moreover, we provide evidence that beta motor-cuneus connectivity is related to the corticomotor alterations induced by pain.