Brief Trains of Closed-loop TMS Induce Controllable Power in FM-theta Oscillations

Posted October 11, 2026. Timing brief magnetic-pulse trains to EEG rhythms changed short-lived theta power, offering a research tool. Memory-task performance did not improve.

Erickson BA, Kim B, Degenhart A, Stenroos M, Rich R, Medaglia J.
bioRxiv (preprint) · Publication date: 2026-10-11
Added to site: 2026-10-15
DOI: 10.64898/2026.10.03.756435

First posted October 11, 2026, version 1; not peer reviewed. DOI suffix is not the posting date.

Modalities

TMS, EEG

Clinical focus

Frontal-midline theta, Phase targeting, Cognitive neuroscience

Population

Healthy adults performing a working-memory task

Sample

Six participants; no patient cohort

Intervention / method

Four-pulse 6 Hz trains over dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (Fz), at 110% resting motor threshold, triggered by real-time EEG phase.

Comparator

Theta-trough versus theta-peak triggering; no sham comparison reported in the abstract

Clinician summary

Trough-triggered trains produced higher total and induced theta power about 50–440 ms after stimulation. Total-power dz=1.32, p=0.023. Evoked power and within-train theta did not differ.

How to interpret the findings

Six-person preliminary experiment, transient physiology and no behavioral advantage. Not evidence of treatment efficacy. Full text unavailable during this check; adverse-event detail and longer-term effects unverified.

Equipment and disclosures

TMS with concurrent EEG, beamforming and real-time phase estimation; manufacturer unverified. No BrainMaster attribution.

Funding and conflicts unavailable in the abstracts. No correction, withdrawal or concern flag appeared in the checked repository/index records; this is a bounded check. AI-assisted review.

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