Theta burst stimulation: Technical aspects about TMS devices

Abstract

Theta burst stimulation (TBS), delivers bursts of TMS pulses at gamma frequency (e.g. 50 Hz) which are repeated at theta frequency intervals (e.g. 5 Hz). In animals, TBS can induce long-lasting neural changes in neuronal behaviour [1–3]. Similar observations have been reported when applying TBS in humans [4,5] using TMS. Continuous TBS (cTBS) applies three pulses at 50 Hz frequency (the burst) every 200 ms (5 Hz) [4,5]. There is considerable inter- and intra-individual variability in response to TBS, despite comparable stimulation parameters and methodologies across studies [6–10].

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