Network-level macroscale structural connectivity predicts propagation of transcranial magnetic stimulation
Davide Momi,
Recep A. Ozdemir,
Ehsan Tadayon,
Pierre Boucher,
Mouhsin M. Shafi,
Alvaro Pascual-Leone,
Emiliano Santarnecchi
Affiliations
Davide Momi
Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
Recep A. Ozdemir
Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
Ehsan Tadayon
Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
Pierre Boucher
Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
Mouhsin M. Shafi
Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
Alvaro Pascual-Leone
Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Deanna and Sidney Wolk Center for Memory Health, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston MA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Guttmann Brain Health Institut, Guttmann Institut, Universitat Autonoma, Barcelona, Spain
Emiliano Santarnecchi
Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Corresponding author.
Information processing in the brain is mediated by structural white matter pathways and is highly dependent on topological brain properties. Here we combined transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with high-density electroencephalography (EEG) and Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI), specifically looking at macroscale connectivity to understand whether regional, network-level or whole-brain structural properties are more responsible for stimulus propagation. Neuronavigated TMS pulses were delivered over two individually defined nodes of the default mode (DMN) and dorsal attention (DAN) networks in a group of healthy subjects, with test-retest reliability assessed 1-month apart. TMS-evoked activity was predicted by the modularity and structural integrity of the stimulated network rather than the targeted region(s) or the whole-brain connectivity, suggesting network-level structural connectivity as more relevant than local and global brain properties in shaping TMS signal propagation. The importance of network structural connectome was unveiled only by evoked activity, but not resting-state data. Future clinicals interventions might enhance target engagement by adopting DWI-guided, network-focused TMS.
