ArticlePloS one2014
Enhanced awareness followed reversible inhibition of human visual cortex: a combined TMS, MRS and MEG study.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cognitive Effects Following Offline High-Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (HF-rTMS) in Healthy Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Neuropsychology review · 2024Pooled it
- Prior Expectations Bias Confidence Judgments Through Parietal Alpha-Band Modulation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- BOLD response delays represent local cortical processing.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2026Article
- Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation does not alter GABA concentration or functional connectivity in the normal visual cortex.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Review
- Parietal theta burst TMS does not modulate bistable perception.Neuroscience of consciousness · 2024Article
- cTBS over ventral cortex enhances depth perception.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2024Article
- Transcranial focused ultrasound-mediated neurochemical and functional connectivity changes in deep cortical regions in humans.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Disturbed circadian rhythm and retinal degeneration in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.Acta neuropathologica communications · 2023Article
- Continuous and intermittent theta burst stimulation to the visual cortex do not alter GABA and glutamate concentrations measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy.Brain and behavior · 2022Article
- Insight Into the Effects of Clinical Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on the Brain From Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Studies: A Narrative Review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2022Review
- Visual cortex cTBS increases mixed percept duration while a-tDCS has no effect on binocular rivalry.PloS one · 2021Article
- Interhemispheric and Intrahemispheric Connectivity From the Left Pars Opercularis Within the Language Network Is Modulated by Transcranial Stimulation in Healthy Subjects.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2020Article
- On a Strategy of Advancement of TMS Based Methods for Studying NCC.Frontiers in psychology · 2018Article
- Network-targeted cerebellar transcranial magnetic stimulation improves attentional control.NeuroImage · 2017Article
- Causal evidence for frontal cortex organization for perceptual decision making.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2016Article
- Modulation of Visual Cortex Excitability by Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation Depends on Coil Type.PloS one · 2016Article
- High visual demand following theta burst stimulation modulates the effect on visual cortex excitability.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2015Article
- TMS evoked N100 reflects local GABA and glutamate balance.Brain stimulationArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
This series of experiments investigated the neural basis of conscious vision in humans using a form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) known as continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS). Previous studies have shown that occipital TMS, when time-locked to the onset of visual stimuli, can induce a phenomenon analogous to blindsight in which conscious detection is impaired while the ability to discriminate 'unseen' stimuli is preserved above chance. Here we sought to reproduce this phenomenon using offline occipital cTBS, which has been shown to induce an inhibitory cortical aftereffect lasting 45-60 minutes. Contrary to expectations, our first experiment revealed the opposite effect: cTBS enhanced conscious vision relative to a sham control. We then sought to replicate this cTBS-induced potentiation of consciousness in conjunction with magnetoencephalography (MEG) and undertook additional experiments to assess its relationship to visual cortical excitability and levels of the inhibitory neurotransmitter γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA; via magnetic resonance spectroscopy, MRS). Occipital cTBS decreased cortical excitability and increased regional GABA concentration. No significant effects of cTBS on MEG measures were observed, although the results provided weak evidence for potentiation of event related desynchronisation in the β band. Collectively these experiments suggest that, through the suppression of noise, cTBS can increase the signal-to-noise ratio of neural activity underlying conscious vision. We speculate that gating-by-inhibition in the visual cortex may provide a key foundation of consciousness.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.