Transcranial alternating current stimulation in essential tremor disorder (360G-Wellcome-097443_B_11_Z)

" Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a rapidly developing non-invasive technique for studying human brain functions and for therapeutic applications nevertheless, the precise mechanisms of TMS activation is still poorly understood. The aim of this project is to explore the underlying physiological processes that are activated by TMS in the primary motor cortex (M1), as paradigmatic activation for other brain areas. TMS in M1 was shown in the past to evoke several different motor outputs, d epending on the direction of the induced current in the brain and the waveform of the stimulating current (also known as the D-I waves phenomenon of the motor evoked potentials). The project will use a novel experimental approach that combines TMS with a cell type specific optogenetic interrogations and a state-of-the-art fluorescent imaging to explore the effect of the induced fields directly within the magnetically excited tissue of an animal model. The outcomes of the project will impact t he design of new investigation procedures and the development of new TMS diagnostic and therapeutic strategies with better specificity. The conclusions of this project will improve our understanding of the cortical processes involve in the motor control and will help to establish the safety boundaries of TMS. "