Large-scale analysis of interindividual variability in theta-burst stimulation data: Results from the ‘Big TMS Data Collaboration’

Daniel T. Corp; Hannah G.K. Bereznicki; Gillian M. Clark; George J. Youssef; Peter J. Fried; Ali Jannati; Charlotte B. Davies; Joyce Gomes-Osman; Julie Stamm; Sung Wook Chung; Steven J. Bowe; Nigel C. Rogasch; Paul B. Fitzgerald; Giacomo Koch; Vincenzo Di Lazzaro; Alvaro Pascual-Leone; Peter G. Enticott

Brain Stimulation (Sep 2020)

Large-scale analysis of interindividual variability in theta-burst stimulation data: Results from the ‘Big TMS Data Collaboration’

Daniel T. Corp,
Hannah G.K. Bereznicki,
Gillian M. Clark,
George J. Youssef,
Peter J. Fried,
Ali Jannati,
Charlotte B. Davies,
Joyce Gomes-Osman,
Julie Stamm,
Sung Wook Chung,
Steven J. Bowe,
Nigel C. Rogasch,
Paul B. Fitzgerald,
Giacomo Koch,
Vincenzo Di Lazzaro,
Alvaro Pascual-Leone,
Peter G. Enticott

Affiliations

Daniel T. Corp: Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia; Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Corresponding author. Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
Hannah G.K. Bereznicki: Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
Gillian M. Clark: Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
George J. Youssef: Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia; Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Parkville, Australia
Peter J. Fried: Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Ali Jannati: Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Neuromodulation Program and Division of Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology, Department of Neurology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Charlotte B. Davies: Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
Joyce Gomes-Osman: Berenson-Allen Center for Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Physical Therapy, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
Julie Stamm: Department of Kinesiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
Sung Wook Chung: Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Central Clinical School, The Alfred and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Steven J. Bowe: Deakin Biostatistics Unit Faculty of Health Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
Nigel C. Rogasch: Discipline of Psychiatry, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia; Hopwood Centre for Neurobiology, Lifelong Health Theme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, Australia; The Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Paul B. Fitzgerald: Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Central Clinical School, The Alfred and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Epworth Centre for Innovation in Mental Health, Epworth HealthCare and Central Clinical School, Melbourne, Australia
Giacomo Koch: Non-invasive Brain Stimulation Unit, Department of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy; Department of Biomedical and Specialty Surgical Sciences, Section of Human Physiology, University of Ferrara, Italy
Vincenzo Di Lazzaro: Unit of Neurology, Neurophysiology and Neurobiology, Università Campus Bio-Medico, Rome, Italy
Alvaro Pascual-Leone: Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research. Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Guttmann Brain Health Institute, Institut Guttmann de Neurorehabilitació, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
Peter G. Enticott: Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 13, no. 5
pp. 1476 – 1488

Abstract

Read online

Background: Many studies have attempted to identify the sources of interindividual variability in response to theta-burst stimulation (TBS). However, these studies have been limited by small sample sizes, leading to conflicting results. Objective/Hypothesis: This study brought together over 60 TMS researchers to form the ‘Big TMS Data Collaboration’, and create the largest known sample of individual participant TBS data to date. The goal was to enable a more comprehensive evaluation of factors driving TBS response variability. Methods: 118 corresponding authors of TMS studies were emailed and asked to provide deidentified individual TMS data. Mixed-effects regression investigated a range of individual and study level variables for their contribution to iTBS and cTBS response variability. Results: 430 healthy participants’ TBS data was pooled across 22 studies (mean age = 41.9; range = 17–82; females = 217). Baseline MEP amplitude, age, target muscle, and time of day significantly predicted iTBS-induced plasticity. Baseline MEP amplitude and timepoint after TBS significantly predicted cTBS-induced plasticity. Conclusions: This is the largest known study of interindividual variability in TBS. Our findings indicate that a significant portion of variability can be attributed to the methods used to measure the modulatory effects of TBS. We provide specific methodological recommendations in order to control and mitigate these sources of variability.

Published in Brain Stimulation

ISSN: 1935-861X (Print); 1876-4754 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United States
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/brain-stimulation

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords