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Brain Sciences
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Application of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in Motor Control and...
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Application of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in Motor Control and Learning

A special issue of Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425). This special issue belongs to the section "Neurotechnology and Neuroimaging".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2025 | Viewed by 710

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sean Meehan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Interests: transcranial magnetic stimulation; sensorimotor control; stroke rehabilitation; concussion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

TMS provides a non-invasive method to induce neural activity in the human brain that can be used to assess or modulate the underlying cortical mechanisms governing motor control and learning. Single and paired-pulse assessments, including dual-site TMS, assess how corticospinal projections, intracortical circuits, and corticocortical or cerebellar-cortical loops shape motor control and change with learning. Repetitive TMS protocols probe mechanisms of neuroplasticity and offer the potential to enhance clinical approaches to movement disorders.

This Special Issue seeks to assemble original research and review papers highlighting the novel application of conventional approaches and emerging TMS technologies to our understanding of motor control and learning. Basic and clinical studies investigating the role of intra- and intercortical mechanisms in the brain–behavior relationship or those seeking to exploit mechanistic knowledge to enhance motor ability are particularly encouraged. Studies examining the neurophysiological mechanisms targeted by TMS methodologies, including controllable pulse parameter TMS, are also encouraged. 

Dr. Sean Meehan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Brain Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • transcranial magnetic stimulation
  • non-invasive
  • motor
  • sensorimotor
  • intracortical
  • neuroplasticity
  • basic neuroscience
  • clinical neuroscience
  • dual-site TMS

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 966 KiB  
Article
Sensitivity to Instruction Strategies in Motor Learning Is Predicted by Anterior–Posterior TMS Motor Thresholds
by Michael L. Perrier, Kylee R. Graham, Jessica E. Vander Vaart, W. Richard Staines and Sean K. Meehan
Brain Sci. 2025, 15(6), 645; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15060645 - 16 Jun 2025
Viewed by 357
Abstract
Background: The impact of exogenous explicit knowledge on early motor learning is highly variable and may be influenced by excitability within the procedural sensorimotor network. Recent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies suggest that variability in interneuron recruitment by anterior–posterior (AP) currents is linked [...] Read more.
Background: The impact of exogenous explicit knowledge on early motor learning is highly variable and may be influenced by excitability within the procedural sensorimotor network. Recent transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies suggest that variability in interneuron recruitment by anterior–posterior (AP) currents is linked to differences in functional connectivity between premotor and motor regions. Objectives: This study used controllable pulse parameter TMS (cTMS) to assess how AP-sensitive interneuron excitability interacts with explicit knowledge to influence motor learning. Methods: Seventy-two participants were grouped as AP-positive (n = 36) and AP-negative groups (n = 36) based on whether an AP threshold could be obtained before reaching maximal stimulator output. A narrow (30 µs) stimulus was employed to target the longest latency corticospinal inputs selectively. Participants then practiced a continuous visuomotor tracking task and completed a delayed retention test. Half of each group received explicit knowledge of a repeated sequence embedded between random sequences. Random sequence tracking performance assessed general sensorimotor efficiency; repeated sequence performance assessed sequence-specific learning. Results: Both AP30-positive participants, with and without explicit knowledge, and the AP30-negative without explicit knowledge demonstrated similar improvements in sensorimotor efficiency driven by offline consolidation. However, AP30-negative participants given explicit instruction exhibited significantly reduced improvement in sensorimotor efficiency, primarily due to impaired offline consolidation. Conclusions: These findings suggest that individuals with low excitability in long-latency AP-sensitive inputs may be more vulnerable to interference from explicit instruction. The current results highlight the importance of accounting for individual differences in interneuron excitability when developing instructional strategies for motor learning. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in Motor Control and Learning)
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