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Modulation of steady-state auditory evoked potentials by cerebellar rTMS

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Abstract

Steady-state auditory evoked responses (SSAER) obtained via electroencephalography (EEG) co-vary in amplitude with blood flow changes in the auditory area of the cerebellum. The aim of the present EEG study was to probe the cerebellar role in the control of such SSAER. For this purpose, we investigated changes in SSAERs due to transient disruption of the cerebellar hemisphere by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). SSAERs to click-trains of three different frequencies in the gamma-band (32, 40 and 47 Hz) were recorded from 45 scalp electrodes in six healthy volunteers immediately after 1-Hz rTMS and compared to baseline SSAERs assessed prior to magnetic stimulation. Cerebellar rTMS contralateral to the stimulated ear significantly reduced the amplitude of steady-state responses to 40-Hz click-trains and showed a tendency to reduce the amplitude to 32-Hz click-trains. No effects were observed for 47-Hz click-trains, nor for magnetic stimulation of the cerebellum ipsilateral to auditory stimulation or after sham stimulation. Our results suggest that interference with cerebellar output by rTMS modifies functional activity associated with cortical auditory processing. The finding of maximum effects on 40-Hz SSAERs provides support to the notion that the cerebellum is part of a distributed network involved in the regulation of cortical oscillatory activity and points at some frequency-specificity for the control of auditory-driven neuronal oscillations.

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Acknowledgment

M.A.P. was supported by grant EX2001 46214114 from the Spanish Education and Culture Department MECD/Fulbright and G.T by a grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation (no 823A-061230). The study was partly supported by K24 RR018875 and RO1-EY12091 to A.P.-L and the Harvard–Thorndike General Clinical Research Center (NCRR MO1 RR01032).

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  1. Gregor Thut

    Present address: Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Maria A. Pastor, Gregor Thut & Alvaro Pascual-Leone

  2. Center for Applied Medical Research and Department of the Neurological Sciences, University of Navarra, Medical School, Pamplona, 31008, Spain

    Maria A. Pastor

  3. Institut Guttman, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Alvaro Pascual-Leone

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  1. Maria A. Pastor
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Correspondence to Maria A. Pastor.

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Pastor, M.A., Thut, G. & Pascual-Leone, A. Modulation of steady-state auditory evoked potentials by cerebellar rTMS. Exp Brain Res 175, 702–709 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0588-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-006-0588-2

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