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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...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Duecker, Felix, Sack, Alexander T.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2015
Materias:
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.
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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
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