A transcranial magnetic stimulation setup for animal research

非侵入性脑刺激方法(NIB)改变了我们研究大脑的能力。特别是，经颅磁刺激(TMS)技术可以用来调节特定脑区的神经活动，使我们能够研究不同脑区如何相互作用，并探索它们在行为中的作用。虽然这些有希望的新技术被广泛应用于人类，但我们对它们的作用机制了解很少，因为很少有实验室有能力在动物模型上测试它们。然而，迫切需要比较TMS和使用侵入性方法获得的效果。 在蒙特雷亚尔大学的Pavillon Desmarais，我们有一个非常强大的系统科学家团队，他们对研究感觉运动和决策行为背后的神经机制感兴趣。当我们使用侵入性技术(例如微刺激、记录神经活动等)时在我们的动物模型中，我们的问题与许多科学家在人类身上使用TMS的问题非常接近。因此，我们处于战略地位，将TMS的使用纳入我们各自的实验，并将其与我们的侵入性方法相结合。这些结果将填补我们研究领域的主要空白，并使我们能够成为使用这些组合方法(TMS和侵入性方法)的领导者。 因此，这项提案要求获得资金，以获得最先进的TMS设置，适应我们的动物模型。特别是，这一设备将允许我们进行双脉冲或‘双部位’刺激方案，以研究与大脑皮质相互作用相关的问题，以控制手的运动(Dancatus)和决策(Cisek)。此外，高频重复TMS的使用将使我们能够调制特定的大脑和脊髓回路，以探索它们对决策(Cisek)、到达(Green)和运动(Martinez)行为的贡献。这种设备，通过补充我们目前的一系列实验，将迅速扩大我们各自的研究计划。通过我们的TMS实验获得的数据将提供新的知识，这些新知识将直接影响对潜在行为的神经机制感兴趣的庞大的系统科学家社区，使我们处于研究领域的前沿。这些实验还将为TMS技术的作用机制提供新的见解，TMS技术通常用于人体运动控制和决策的研究。

Non-invasive brain stimulation methods (NIBS) have transformed our capacity to study the brain. In particular, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) techniques can be used to modulate neural activity of specific brain areas, allowing us to study how various brain areas interact and to probe their role in behavior. While these promising new techniques are widely used in humans, we have a poor understanding of their mechanisms of action because few laboratories have the ability to test them on animal models. Yet, there is an urgent need to compare the effects of TMS with those obtained using invasive methods. At the Pavillon Desmarais of the Université de Montréal, we have a very strong group of systems scientists interested in studying the neural mechanisms underlying sensorimotor and decision-making behaviors. While we use invasive techniques (e.g. microstimulation, recording of neural activity, etc.) in our animal models, our questions are very close to those of many scientists using TMS in humans. We are thus in a strategic position to incorporate the use of TMS in our respective experiments and to combine it with our invasive methods. The results would fill major gaps in our fields of research and allow us to become leaders in using these combined approaches (TMS and invasive methods). Consequently, this proposal requests funds to acquire a state-of-the-art TMS setup, adapted to our animal models. In particular, this equipment will allow us to conduct paired-pulse or ‘dual-site’ stimulation protocols to study questions related to cortical interactions for the control of hand movement (Dancause) and decision making (Cisek). In addition, the use of high-frequency repetitive TMS will allow us to modulate specific brain and spinal circuits in order to probe their contribution to decision-making (Cisek), reaching (Green) and locomotor (Martinez) behavior. This equipment, by complementing our current set of experiments, will rapidly expand our respective research programs. The data obtained with our TMS experiments will provide new knowledge that will directly impact the large community of systems scientists interested in the neural mechanisms underlying behavior, putting us at the forefront of our research fields. These experiments will additionally provide new insights into the mechanisms of action of TMS techniques, which are commonly used in human studies of motor control and decision-making.