Changes of oscillatory brain activity induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in healthy subjects.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) modulates brain activity in different ways according to the stimulation parameters. Although the after-effects of rTMS over motor cortex are well documented in healthy individuals, less is known about the stimulation of dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Here, we studied in 20 healthy subjects how cortical oscillations are modulated by four different active rTMS protocols (1Hz, 10Hz, continuous and intermittent theta bursts - cTBS and iTBS) of the left DLPFC, and by a sham protocol used as a control condition, by comparing the spectral power of pre- and post-rTMS electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings of 15min duration.