The Multidimensional Electrophysiological Fingerprint of TMS on the Primary Motor Cortex: A TMS–EEG Characterization of Immediate Excitability Changes

The Multidimensional Electrophysiological Fingerprint of TMS on the Primary Motor Cortex: A TMS–EEG Characterization of Immediate Excitability Changes | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The Multidimensional Electrophysiological Fingerprint of TMS on the Primary Motor Cortex: A TMS–EEG Characterization of Immediate Excitability Changes Yuyao He, Wei Wang, Dechen Kong, Jiayu Chen, Hongying Li, Haoyang Xing, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8699822/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 8 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalography (TMS–EEG) enables millisecond-scale characterization of immediate cortical responses to stimulation. Nevertheless, systematic multidimensional comparisons of these responses across different TMS protocols at the same cortical target remain limited. In this study, we investigated the immediate electrophysiological modulation of the primary motor cortex (M1) induced by three protocols—1 Hz, 10 Hz, and intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS)—using a unified framework integrating TMS-evoked potentials (TEPs), spectral power, global field metrics, and EEG microstate dynamics. Specifically, 10 Hz TMS enhanced the early excitatory component P30, reduced the inhibitory-related component N45, increased frontocentral β/γ-band activity, and promoted anterior-dominant microstate stability. In contrast, 1 Hz TMS attenuated P30, enhanced the later component P60, and primarily modulated β-band activity over parieto–occipital regions alongside posterior-dominant microstate reorganization. iTBS produced a hybrid pattern characterized by reductions in inhibitory-related components and selective microstate modulation. Across protocols, temporal, spectral, and microstate measures showed internally coherent shifts, defining a multidimensional electrophysiological fingerprint of immediate TMS-induced modulation in M1. This framework enables systematic cross-protocol comparison and provides a structured basis for future investigations of TMS-induced excitability changes and individualized neuromodulation strategies. Biological sciences/Biological techniques Biological sciences/Neuroscience Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 16 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 18 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 17 Feb, 2026 Editor invited by journal 29 Jan, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 27 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 27 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 26 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8699822","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":593383256,"identity":"3ca8beaf-5e28-41e5-a94e-6cb41c95ff70","order_by":0,"name":"Yuyao He","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Medical Imaging Laboratory, College of Physics, Sichuan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yuyao","middleName":"","lastName":"He","suffix":""},{"id":593383261,"identity":"1fc626fa-4209-47a0-8115-8743791fde11","order_by":1,"name":"Wei Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The Second Veterans Hospital of 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Nevertheless, systematic multidimensional comparisons of these responses across different TMS protocols at the same cortical target remain limited. In this study, we investigated the immediate electrophysiological modulation of the primary motor cortex (M1) induced by three protocols\u0026mdash;1 Hz, 10 Hz, and intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS)\u0026mdash;using a unified framework integrating TMS-evoked potentials (TEPs), spectral power, global field metrics, and EEG microstate dynamics. Specifically, 10 Hz TMS enhanced the early excitatory component P30, reduced the inhibitory-related component N45, increased frontocentral β/γ-band activity, and promoted anterior-dominant microstate stability. 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