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Rethinking the role of sham TMS
Sham transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) approaches are widely used in basic and clinical research to ensure that observed effects are due to the intended neural manipulation instead of being caused by various possible side effects. We here critically discuss several methodological aspects of sh...
Autores principales: | , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2015
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4341423/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25767458 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00210 |
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author | Duecker, Felix Sack, Alexander T. |
author_facet | Duecker, Felix Sack, Alexander T. |
author_sort | Duecker, Felix |
collection | PubMed |
description | Sham transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) approaches are widely used in basic and clinical research to ensure that observed effects are due to the intended neural manipulation instead of being caused by various possible side effects. We here critically discuss several methodological aspects of sham TMS. Importantly, we propose to carefully distinguish between the placebo versus sensory side effects of TMS. In line with this conceptual distinction, we describe current limitations of sham TMS approaches in the context of placebo effects and blinding success, followed by a short review of our own work demonstrating that the sensory side effects of sham TMS are not unspecific as often falsely assumed. Lastly, we argue that sham TMS approaches are inherently insufficient as full-fledged control conditions as they fail to demonstrate the specificity of TMS effects to a particular brain area or time point of stimulation. Sham TMS should therefore only complement alternative control strategies in TMS research. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4341423 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2015 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-43414232015-03-12 Rethinking the role of sham TMS Duecker, Felix Sack, Alexander T. Front Psychol Psychology Sham transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) approaches are widely used in basic and clinical research to ensure that observed effects are due to the intended neural manipulation instead of being caused by various possible side effects. We here critically discuss several methodological aspects of sham TMS. Importantly, we propose to carefully distinguish between the placebo versus sensory side effects of TMS. In line with this conceptual distinction, we describe current limitations of sham TMS approaches in the context of placebo effects and blinding success, followed by a short review of our own work demonstrating that the sensory side effects of sham TMS are not unspecific as often falsely assumed. Lastly, we argue that sham TMS approaches are inherently insufficient as full-fledged control conditions as they fail to demonstrate the specificity of TMS effects to a particular brain area or time point of stimulation. Sham TMS should therefore only complement alternative control strategies in TMS research. Frontiers Media S.A. 2015-02-26 /pmc/articles/PMC4341423/ /pubmed/25767458 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00210 Text en Copyright © 2015 Duecker and Sack. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. |
spellingShingle | Psychology Duecker, Felix Sack, Alexander T. Rethinking the role of sham TMS |
title | Rethinking the role of sham TMS |
title_full | Rethinking the role of sham TMS |
title_fullStr | Rethinking the role of sham TMS |
title_full_unstemmed | Rethinking the role of sham TMS |
title_short | Rethinking the role of sham TMS |
title_sort | rethinking the role of sham tms |
topic | Psychology |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4341423/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25767458 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00210 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT dueckerfelix rethinkingtheroleofshamtms AT sackalexandert rethinkingtheroleofshamtms |