Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging – advanced adjuncts in preoperative planning for central region tumors

Introduction: Tumor resection in the vicinity of the motor cortex poses a challenge to all neurosurgeons. The path between greatest possible resection and postoperative impairment may be very narrow. For preoperative assessment of eloquent cortical areas functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used, whereas intraoperatively direct cortical stimulation (DCS) is performed. Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) is comparable to DCS in activating cortical pyramidal neurons. Thus, for preoperative resection planning of centrally located tumors, this study evaluates the reliability of nTMS compare…