Pinpointing the precise stimulation targets for brain rehabilitation in early-stage Parkinson’s disease

BACKGROUND: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is increasingly used as a promising non-pharmacological treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Scalp-to-cortex distance (SCD), as a key technical parameter of TMS, plays a critical role in determining the locations of treatment targets and corresponding dosage. Due to the discrepancies in TMS protocols, the optimal targets and head models have yet to be established in PD patients. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the SCDs of the most popular used targets in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and quantify its impact on the TMS-induced electric fields (E-fields) in early-stage PD patients. METHODS: Structural magnetic resonance imaging scans from PD patients (n = 47) and normal controls (n = 36) were drawn from the NEUROCON and Tao Wu datasets. SCD of left DLPFC was measured by Euclidean Distance in TMS Navigation system. The intensity and focality of SCD-dependent E-fields were examined and quantified using Finite Element Method. RESULTS: Early-stage PD patients showed an increased SCDs, higher variances in the SCDs and SCD-dependent E-fields across the seven targets of left DLPFC than normal controls. The stimulation targets located on gyral crown had more focal and homogeneous E-fields. The SCD of left DLPFC had a better performance in differentiating early-stage PD patients than global cognition and other brain measures. CONCLUSION: SCD and SCD-dependent E-fields could determine the optimal TMS treatment targets and may also be used as a novel marker to differentiate early-stage PD patients. Our findings have important implications for developing optimal TMS protocols and personalized dosimetry in real-world clinical practice. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12868-023-00791-7.