Choosing the optimal target area for repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation in treating neuropathic pain in spinal cord injury patients: a comparative analysis

This study explores the best brain area to target with rTMS for treating neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury. rTMS is a non-invasive technique that uses magnetic pulses to stimulate brain activity. The researchers compared stimulating the motor cortex (M1) and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC) to a sham stimulation control group to observe which area yielded better pain relief and improvement in related factors like anxiety, depression, and sleep quality. The findings suggest that both M1 and LDLPFC are effective targets, but LDLPFC may be more effective in reducing depression associated with neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury.

• 1
  Both rTMS targeting M1 and LDLPFC significantly reduced pain, anxiety, and improved sleep quality in SCI-NP patients compared to the control group.
• 2
  LDLPFC stimulation showed a superior degree of improvement in depression compared to M1 stimulation.
• 3
  The LDLPFC group demonstrated a greater improvement degree in pain-related inventory, and only the LDLPFC group showed a moderate relationship in decreased pain between related quality of daily activity.