Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

I am requesting a new, first of its kind commercially available, Controllable Pulse Parameter Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (cTMS) device. This cTMS delivers near rectangular electric field pulses with pulse widths that are controllable. A beneficial side effect of the near rectangular pulses that are delivered during cTMS that their shape greatly reduces power consumption and as a result causes less coil heating. This allows a larger number of pulses to be delivered and higher stimulation amplitudes before the TMS coil overheats. The adjustable pulse widths enabled by cTMS allows the selective targeting of distinct neuronalpopulations that overlap in space. Within a cortical region, cTMS can be used to activate distinct neuronal populations though their unique strength-duration characteristics. This capacity will vastly expand the research proposed in my Discovery grant and enable an entirely new line of studies focused on the specific contributions of select neuronal and inter-neuronal populations to changes in motor behaviour and learning. A significant advantage of the Rogue Research cTMS device is that it can also deliver paired pulses and repetitive TMS. As such a single cTMS unit can also serve as a back-up device for my other Magstim TMS stimulators (Magstim 200 2 , BiStim 2 and Super Rapid 2 ) which are old (10+ years); each one has already been refurbished owing to their heavy use. Given I lead a large group of trainees and my high degree of collaborative research, this equipment will provide unique training experiences for a large number of highly qualified personnel. At this time there are no other cTMS units at UBC, in British Columbia or Canada. There are only 4 other Rogue Research cTMS units, and a few prototype systems that were built in house, in use across the world. As such acquisition of a cTMS device would position my research group at the leading edge of the study of neurophysiological changes associated with human motor behaviour and learning. It will also enable the expansion of my proposed Discovery grant research. The research contributions that will be facilitated by the acquisition of this equipment will move the entire field forward by specifying how structural and physiological plasticity interact during human motor learning.