To investigate whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve language function in patients with refractory epilepsy, three right-handed, refractory epilepsy patients who had complained of l...To investigate whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve language function in patients with refractory epilepsy, three right-handed, refractory epilepsy patients who had complained of language dysfunction, were recruited. Over 1 month, 1-Hz rTMS treatment was performed every 3 days. A battery of language production and functional MRI were evaluated in the patients using a standard verb generation task both before and 1 month after rTMS treatment. Significant and lasting improvement in verb production was observed following rTMS treatment. Functional MRI results revealed that the left frontal lobes of two patients were more activated than they had been prior to therapy, and activation was primarily concentrated in the language-related areas. Results demonstrated that low frequency rTMS has potential to improve language function in patients with refractory epilepsy.展开更多
文摘To investigate whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can improve language function in patients with refractory epilepsy, three right-handed, refractory epilepsy patients who had complained of language dysfunction, were recruited. Over 1 month, 1-Hz rTMS treatment was performed every 3 days. A battery of language production and functional MRI were evaluated in the patients using a standard verb generation task both before and 1 month after rTMS treatment. Significant and lasting improvement in verb production was observed following rTMS treatment. Functional MRI results revealed that the left frontal lobes of two patients were more activated than they had been prior to therapy, and activation was primarily concentrated in the language-related areas. Results demonstrated that low frequency rTMS has potential to improve language function in patients with refractory epilepsy.