The Effectiveness of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Treating Apraxia

CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets. 2023 Oct 13. doi: 10.2174/0118715273249412231010171926. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Apraxia can be detected when engaging in mental motor envisioning exercises. The nonverbal skills of manufacturing, representation, strategizing, arithmetic, visual sensitivity, and motor skills are all related to apraxia. Limb apraxia also negatively affects communication gestures and linguistic skills. The impairment of brain regions related to motion patterns is the primary cause of apraxia. People with apraxia may struggle to complete a variety of tasks because they are unable to focus on various movements. Apraxia can result from injury to the premotor cortex since it has a role in the left hemisphere-dependent selection of movements. Cognitive and complicated motor system deficits are hallmarks of the corticobasal syndrome. Apraxia of the limbs and visuospatial abnormalities are typical clinical types. TMS was used to study these problems; however, no research was done on the relationship between TMS parameters and clinical types. It is possible for changes in brain activity to last a long time when repetitive TMS (rTMS) is utilized. Electromyography shows that noninvasive TMS of the motor cortex causes target muscle spasms (MEP). The human motor cortex is a part of the cerebral cortex that is involved in the organization, management, and execution of voluntary movements. TMS and other neuroimaging techniques are frequently used to identify changes in this region. Cortical motor excitability varies among different diagnoses; therefore, it is important to determine the effectiveness of TMS. Therefore, this study aims to review the causes and neurophysiological simulation of apraxia along with the principles and effects of TMS on apraxia.

Keywords: Aphasia of speech; Gait; Limb-kinetic apraxia; Motor cortex; Motor evoked potentials; Neural rehabilitation; Stroke.