Memory systems
Can TMS boost hippocampal network connectivity during remembering?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
In 32 adults, five days of 20 Hz TMS aimed at a hippocampal-connected parietal site increased posterior-medial connectivity during autobiographical retrieval versus rest, and medial temporal increases predicted better episodic memory.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Human experiment — Between-group PMN vs PFC TMS target (n = 16 each) with within-subject real vs sham 20 Hz rTMS; fMRI during rest and autobiographical retrieval
- N
- N=32 · 32 adults analyzed (22 female; mean age 25.6); 16 PMN-targeted, 16 PFC control; two extra discarded for motion
- Population
- Healthy adults 18–34 years with normal vision and no neurological/psychiatric history, eligible for MRI/TMS
- Outcome
- Task-dependent fMRI connectivity in PMN vs ATN and separate episodic memory (item/context) performance
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Key findings
PMN-targeted stimulation increased PMN connectivity during retrieval versus rest. The effect was absent in ATN and after PFC-targeted stimulation. Task-dependent MTL connectivity predicted improved performance on a separate episodic memory test.
Methodology
Assigned 16 adults to PMN-targeted parietal TMS and 16 to an out-of-network PFC target. Each completed five daily 20 Hz sessions of real and sham (subthreshold, counterbalanced). fMRI connectivity was compared during autobiographical retrieval versus rest in PMN and ATN.
Limitations
A small healthy-young-adult TMS study cannot show that this protocol treats amnesia or that benefits last beyond the experimental week.
How this study connects
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