Slow rTMS to the somatosensory cortex attenuates afferent inhibition in patients with writer's cramp

Previous studies have shown a number of functional abnormalities in the somatosensory system including a distorted functional organisation of the somatosensory cortex (S1) in patients with writer's cramp. Here we tested the hypothesis that these functional alterations render S1 more susceptible to the „inhibitory“ effects of low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). To this end, we explored the effects of subthreshold 1Hz rTMS (1200 stimuli) given to S1 on clinical symptoms (writing speed) and short latency afferent inhibition (SAI), a measure of sensorimotor integration, in seven writer…