Non-invasive electrical and magnetic stimulation of the brain, spinal cord, roots and peripheral nerves: Basic principles and procedures for routine clinical and research application. An updated report from an I.F.C.N. Committee

P M Rossini; D Burke; R Chen; L G Cohen; Z Daskalakis; R Di Iorio; V Di Lazzaro; F Ferreri; P B Fitzgerald; M S George; M Hallett; J P Lefaucheur; B Langguth; H Matsumoto; C Miniussi; M A Nitsche; A Pascual-Leone; W Paulus; S Rossi; J C Rothwell; H R Siebner; Y Ugawa; V Walsh; U Ziemann

doi:10.1016/j.clinph.2015.02.001

Non-invasive electrical and magnetic stimulation of the brain, spinal cord, roots and peripheral nerves: Basic principles and procedures for routine clinical and research application. An updated report from an I.F.C.N. Committee

Clin Neurophysiol. 2015 Jun;126(6):1071-1107. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2015.02.001. Epub 2015 Feb 10.

Authors

P M Rossini¹, D Burke², R Chen³, L G Cohen⁴, Z Daskalakis⁵, R Di Iorio⁶, V Di Lazzaro⁷, F Ferreri⁸, P B Fitzgerald⁹, M S George¹⁰, M Hallett¹¹, J P Lefaucheur¹², B Langguth¹³, H Matsumoto¹⁴, C Miniussi¹⁵, M A Nitsche¹⁶, A Pascual-Leone¹⁷, W Paulus¹⁸, S Rossi¹⁹, J C Rothwell²⁰, H R Siebner²¹, Y Ugawa²², V Walsh²³, U Ziemann²⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Neurology, Department of Geriatrics, Neuroscience and Orthopedics, Catholic University, Policlinic A. Gemelli, Rome, Italy.
² Department of Neurology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
³ Division of Neurology, Toronto Western Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Human Cortical Physiology and Neurorehabilitation Section, NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁵ Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Institute of Neurology, Department of Geriatrics, Neuroscience and Orthopedics, Catholic University, Policlinic A. Gemelli, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: r.diiorio@live.it.
⁷ Department of Neurology, University Campus Bio-medico, Rome, Italy.
⁸ Department of Neurology, University Campus Bio-medico, Rome, Italy; Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
⁹ Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Monash University Central Clinical School and The Alfred, Melbourne, Australia.
¹⁰ Medical University of South Carolina, Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC, USA.
¹¹ Human Motor Control Section, Medical Neurology Branch, NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.
¹² Department of Physiology, Henri Mondor Hospital, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Créteil, France; EA 4391, Nerve Excitability and Therapeutic Team, Faculty of Medicine, Paris Est Créteil University, Créteil, France.
¹³ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
¹⁴ Department of Neurology, Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
¹⁵ Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy; IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.
¹⁶ Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University, Göttingen, Germany.
¹⁷ Berenson-Allen Center for Non-invasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
¹⁸ Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany.
¹⁹ Brain Investigation & Neuromodulation Lab, Unit of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, Department of Neuroscience, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.
²⁰ Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
²¹ Department of Neurology, Copenhagen University Hospital Bispebjerg, Copenhagen, Denmark; Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Centre for Functional and Diagnostic Imaging and Research, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark.
²² Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
²³ Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
²⁴ Department of Neurology & Stroke, and Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany.

Abstract

These guidelines provide an up-date of previous IFCN report on "Non-invasive electrical and magnetic stimulation of the brain, spinal cord and roots: basic principles and procedures for routine clinical application" (Rossini et al., 1994). A new Committee, composed of international experts, some of whom were in the panel of the 1994 "Report", was selected to produce a current state-of-the-art review of non-invasive stimulation both for clinical application and research in neuroscience. Since 1994, the international scientific community has seen a rapid increase in non-invasive brain stimulation in studying cognition, brain-behavior relationship and pathophysiology of various neurologic and psychiatric disorders. New paradigms of stimulation and new techniques have been developed. Furthermore, a large number of studies and clinical trials have demonstrated potential therapeutic applications of non-invasive brain stimulation, especially for TMS. Recent guidelines can be found in the literature covering specific aspects of non-invasive brain stimulation, such as safety (Rossi et al., 2009), methodology (Groppa et al., 2012) and therapeutic applications (Lefaucheur et al., 2014). This up-dated review covers theoretical, physiological and practical aspects of non-invasive stimulation of brain, spinal cord, nerve roots and peripheral nerves in the light of more updated knowledge, and include some recent extensions and developments.

Keywords: Clinical neurophysiology; Excitability threshold; Human cortex; Non-invasive stimulation; TMS measures; Transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Advisory Committees
Animals
Brain / physiology*
Cognition Disorders / diagnosis
Cognition Disorders / physiopathology
Cognition Disorders / therapy
Deep Brain Stimulation / methods*
Humans
Mental Disorders / diagnosis
Mental Disorders / physiopathology
Mental Disorders / therapy
Peripheral Nerves / physiology*
Research Report*
Spinal Cord / physiology*
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / methods*

Grants and funding

Z99 NS999999/Intramural NIH HHS/United States