JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments
Neuroscience
0 views • 3:54 min • August 7th, 2025
Place an anesthetized rat on a warming blanket to maintain body temperature, and apply eye ointment to prevent dryness.
Locate the target region of the cerebral cortex.
Position a magnetic coil over the primary motor cortex.
Apply the minimum stimulation intensity, termed the motor threshold or MT, which generates electrical activity in the cortical neurons and leads to muscle contraction in the contralateral forepaw.
Move the coil over the target area. Using an intensity equal to or greater than MT, apply repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, or rTMS, to induce electrical activity in the target cortical neurons.
The electrical activity opens voltage-gated calcium channels, leading to calcium influx, which triggers immediate early gene expression and promotes neurotrophic factor production.
The factors upregulate excitatory neurotransmitter receptors at the synapse and facilitate new synapse formation, which enhances cortical excitability.
After stimulation, allow the animal to recover to assess rTMS-induced changes in cortical excitability.
Place a rectal probe in an anesthetized adult male rat to monitor the body temperature, using a homeothermic blanket to maintain the temperat
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