ArticleFrontiers in neural circuits2026
Motor imagery affects both cortical and spinal circuitry: a transcranial and trans-spinal magnetic stimulation study.
Article in Frontiers in neural circuits, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Motor imagery (MI), the mental rehearsal of movement without physical execution, is a key technique in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), known for eliciting cortical modulations similar to those exhibited during real movement. Beyond cortical effects, MI could also modulate spinal cord processing, which offers additional potential for neurorehabilitation in conditions like spinal cord injury (SCI) and stroke, where BCIs are used for therapy. Material and methods: To investigate the interactions of MI with both the cortex and the spinal cord, we employed both transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and trans-spinal magnetic stimulation (TSMS) while recording brain and muscle activities. Results and conclusion: With proper coil orientation, TSMS elicited lateralized MEPs in ipsilateral forearm muscles at significantly shorter latencies than M1-evoked MEPs, confirming direct spinal cord activation. Importantly, right-hand kinesthetic MI selectively facilitated TSMS-evoked MEPs in the stimulated ipsilateral side only, providing direct evidence that MI modulates spinal cord excitability. Moreover, TSMS-evoked cortical responses were modulated by imagery, demonstrating that MI increases cortical processing of the ascending spinal volley. This within-group demonstration of MI affecting both cortical and spinal circuitry underscores its potential as a powerful strategy for BCI-driven neurorehabilitation, including pairing MI with spinal magnetic stimulation.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.