Systems Neurophysiology, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Section on Computational Sensomotorics, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Cognitive Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Neurology and Stroke, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Graduate Training Centre/International Max Planck Research School for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Juha P Virtanen
Systems Neurophysiology, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Section on Computational Sensomotorics, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Cognitive Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Neurology and Stroke, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Axel Oeltermann
Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany
Systems Neurophysiology, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Cognitive Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Martin A Giese
Section on Computational Sensomotorics, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Cognitive Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Ulf Ziemann
Department of Neurology and Stroke, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Systems Neurophysiology, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Section on Computational Sensomotorics, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Cognitive Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a widely used non-invasive tool to study and modulate human brain functions. However, TMS-evoked activity of individual neurons has remained largely inaccessible due to the large TMS-induced electromagnetic fields. Here, we present a general method providing direct in vivo electrophysiological access to TMS-evoked neuronal activity 0.8–1 ms after TMS onset. We translated human single-pulse TMS to rodents and unveiled time-grained evoked activities of motor cortex layer V neurons that show high-frequency spiking within the first 6 ms depending on TMS-induced current orientation and a multiphasic spike-rhythm alternating between excitation and inhibition in the 6–300 ms epoch, all of which can be linked to various human TMS responses recorded at the level of spinal cord and muscles. The advance here facilitates a new level of insight into the TMS-brain interaction that is vital for developing this non-invasive tool to purposefully explore and effectively treat the human brain.
