Sorbonne Université & CNRS, IBPS-B2A, UMR 8256 Biological Adaptation and Ageing, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, APHP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team ‘Network dynamics and cellular excitability’, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, APHP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team ‘Network dynamics and cellular excitability’, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team Cerebral Dynamics, Plasticity and Rehabilitation Group, FRONTLAB team, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team Cerebral Dynamics, Plasticity and Rehabilitation Group, FRONTLAB team, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, APHP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team ‘Network dynamics and cellular excitability’, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université & CNRS, IBPS-B2A, UMR 8256 Biological Adaptation and Ageing, Paris, France
Corresponding authors R. M. Sherrard: UMR 8256 Biological Adaptation and Ageing, Boite 256, Sorbonne Université, 9 Quai St Bernard, 75005 Paris, France. Email: [email protected]
Severine Mahon: Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM U1127, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris 75013 France. Email: [email protected]
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, APHP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team ‘Network dynamics and cellular excitability’, Paris, France
Corresponding authors R. M. Sherrard: UMR 8256 Biological Adaptation and Ageing, Boite 256, Sorbonne Université, 9 Quai St Bernard, 75005 Paris, France. Email: [email protected]
Severine Mahon: Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM U1127, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris 75013 France. Email: [email protected]
Sorbonne Université & CNRS, IBPS-B2A, UMR 8256 Biological Adaptation and Ageing, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, APHP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team ‘Network dynamics and cellular excitability’, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, APHP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team ‘Network dynamics and cellular excitability’, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team Cerebral Dynamics, Plasticity and Rehabilitation Group, FRONTLAB team, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team Cerebral Dynamics, Plasticity and Rehabilitation Group, FRONTLAB team, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, APHP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team ‘Network dynamics and cellular excitability’, Paris, France
Sorbonne Université & CNRS, IBPS-B2A, UMR 8256 Biological Adaptation and Ageing, Paris, France
Corresponding authors R. M. Sherrard: UMR 8256 Biological Adaptation and Ageing, Boite 256, Sorbonne Université, 9 Quai St Bernard, 75005 Paris, France. Email: [email protected]
Severine Mahon: Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM U1127, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris 75013 France. Email: [email protected]
Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM, CNRS, APHP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, team ‘Network dynamics and cellular excitability’, Paris, France
Corresponding authors R. M. Sherrard: UMR 8256 Biological Adaptation and Ageing, Boite 256, Sorbonne Université, 9 Quai St Bernard, 75005 Paris, France. Email: [email protected]
Severine Mahon: Paris Brain Institute–ICM, INSERM U1127, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris 75013 France. Email: [email protected]
R. M. Sherrard and S. Mahon contributed equally to this work.
This article was first published as a preprint. Boyer M, Baudin P, Stengel C, Valero-Cabré A, Lohof AM, Charpier S, Sherrard RM & Mahon S. 2022. In vivo low-intensity magnetic pulses durably alter neocortical neuron excitability and spontaneous activity. bioRxiv DOI: 10.1101/2022.03.18.484911
Abstract
Magnetic brain stimulation is a promising treatment for neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, a better understanding of its effects at the individual neuron level is essential to improve its clinical application. We combined focal low-intensity repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (LI-rTMS) to the rat somatosensory cortex with intracellular recordings of subjacent pyramidal neurons in vivo. Continuous 10 Hz LI-rTMS reliably evoked firing at ∼4–5 Hz during the stimulation period and induced durable attenuation of synaptic activity and spontaneous firing in cortical neurons, through membrane hyperpolarization and a reduced intrinsic excitability. However, inducing firing in individual neurons by repeated intracellular current injection did not reproduce the effects of LI-rTMS on neuronal properties. These data provide a novel understanding of mechanisms underlying magnetic brain stimulation showing that, in addition to inducing biochemical plasticity, even weak magnetic fields can activate neurons and enduringly modulate their excitability.
Key points
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a promising technique to alleviate neurological and psychiatric disorders caused by alterations in cortical activity.
Our knowledge of the cellular mechanisms underlying rTMS-based therapies remains limited.
We combined in vivo focal application of low-intensity rTMS (LI-rTMS) to the rat somatosensory cortex with intracellular recordings of subjacent pyramidal neurons to characterize the effects of weak magnetic fields at single cell level.
Ten minutes of LI-rTMS delivered at 10 Hz reliably evoked action potentials in cortical neurons during the stimulation period, and induced durable attenuation of their intrinsic excitability, synaptic activity and spontaneous firing.
These results help us better understand the mechanisms of weak magnetic stimulation and should allow optimizing the effectiveness of stimulation protocols for clinical use.
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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