Neuroplastic effects of transcranial near-infrared stimulation (tNIRS) on the motor cortex.

ABSTRACT: Near-infrared light stimulation of the brain has been claimed to improve deficits caused by traumatic brain injury and stroke. Here, we exploit the effect of transcranial near-infrared stimulation (tNIRS) as a tool to modulate cortical excitability in the healthy human brain. tNIRS was applied at a wavelength of 810 nm for 10 min over the hand area of the primary motor cortex (M1). Both single-pulse and paired-pulse measures of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) were used to assess levels of cortical excitability in the corticospinal pathway and intracortical circuits. The serial reaction time task (SRTT) was used to investigate the possible effect of tNIRS on implicit learning. By evaluating the mean amplitude of single-pulse TMS elicited motor-evoked-potentials (MEPs) a significant

SUBMITTER: Chaieb L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4451368 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature