Development of a single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation protocol for individual localization of brain regions for semantic processing

Objectives: Repetitive TMS is widely used to interfere with normal language processing by employing rapidly changing magnetic fields. Involuntary contractions of the temporal muscle however make rTMS-effects of temporal language areas difficult to interpret. We thus developed a TMS protocol for investigation of language processing areas using single pulse TMS to avoid interference with articulated speech. It is hypothesized that a single TMS pulse can still interfere with language processing if it is applied in a certain time window after presentation of the language task stimulus. Methods: Language related brai…