Intermittent theta burst stimulation modulates biceps brachii corticomotor excitability in individuals with tetraplegia

BACKGROUND: Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) that can increase corticomotor excitability of hand muscles in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The objective of this study was to determine the effect of iTBS on the corticomotor excitability of the biceps brachii in individuals with tetraplegia. METHODS: Ten individuals with low cervical SCI (C5-C8) and ten nonimpaired individuals completed three independent sessions. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) served as our measure of corticomotor excitability and were collected before and after iTBS. MEPs were normalized by the electromyography corresponding to maximum voluntary contraction and analyzed using linear mixed effects models to determine the effect of iTBS (active or sham) on normalized MEPs (nMEPs). iTBS effects were compared to a ratio of active and resting motor thresholds as a measurement of corticomotor conductance potential. RESULTS: Relative to sham, active iTBS increased nMEPs over time (p < 0.001) in individuals with SCI, but not nonimpaired individuals (p = 0.915). The amplitude of nMEPs were correlated with the biceps corticomotor conductance potential (p < 0.001), with nMEPs decreasing as the ratio increased at different rates after sham or active iTBS. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary results suggest that iTBS increases biceps corticomotor excitability in individuals with tetraplegia with effects that may be predicted by corticomotor conductance potential. Clinical trial registration NCT03277521 Registered on clinicaltrials.gov on August 24, 2017 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12984-022-01049-9.