Published September 23, 2026, in the Journal of Neurophysiology, this experiment asked 11 healthy adults to track low- and high-force targets with one index finger while receiving brief 10 Hz rTMS.
What the perturbation revealed Two-second trains over the motor cortex opposite the active hand disrupted force accuracy, consistency and smoothness more than same-side stimulation or no TMS. For force smoothness, the contralateral-versus-ipsilateral difference was larger during the higher-force task.
Why this is useful The time-locked disruption strengthens the case that ongoing contralateral motor-cortex activity helps regulate graded finger force. That mechanistic knowledge can inform future motor-control and rehabilitation research.
The important boundary This was a small laboratory study in healthy adults, not a treatment trial. It does not show that rTMS improves grasp or rehabilitation outcomes. Effect sizes, adverse-event details and competing-interest disclosures were unavailable in the checked abstract.
Source and disclosure Authoritative abstract checked. Europe PMC lists Israel Science Foundation grant 2484/23. Prepared with AI assistance and source-checked September 26, 2026.