Transient hemispheric lateralization is associated with intensity-dependent aftereffects of low-frequency rTMS

Published October 8, 2026. In 20 healthy adults, stimulation at or above motor threshold produced stronger short-term EEG responses and was followed by reduced hemispheric lateralization. A separate 10-person stroke cohort showed an association between lower beta lateralization and better motor function. These are early physiology and correlation findings, not evidence that an EEG marker can yet choose an effective treatment or improve recovery.

Qiu S, Gao Y, Yi W, Zhang C, Liu C, Zhu X, Wang S, He H.
Communications Biology · Publication date: 2026-10-08
Added to site: 2026-10-31
DOI: 10.1038/s42003-026-11076-0

Published October 8, 2026. Added to Neurofeedback.com October 31, 2026 after the previously held source and supplementary record resolved cohort-size and disclosure questions. This is a historical addition, not a newly published October 31 study.

Modalities

Low-frequency rTMS, TMS-EEG, Electroencephalography

Clinical focus

Stimulation intensity, Beta-band lateralization, Interhemispheric rebalancing

Population

Twenty healthy adults in the crossover experiment and an exploratory supplementary cohort of 10 adults with ischemic stroke

Sample

20 healthy adults received all four intensity conditions; the separate stroke cohort included 10 participants, nine men and one woman

Intervention / method

Healthy participants received 1 Hz rTMS over left motor cortex at sham, 80%, 100% and 120% of resting motor threshold with EEG before, during and after stimulation. The exploratory stroke cohort received 10 sessions over two weeks at 100% resting motor threshold over the contralesional motor cortex.

Comparator

Within-participant sham and subthreshold intensity conditions in the healthy-adult experiment; the 10-person stroke cohort had no sham or parallel control group

Clinician summary

The crossover experiment compared sham, 80%, 100% and 120% resting-motor-threshold conditions. At-threshold and suprathreshold stimulation increased TMS-evoked potentials, beta power, beta lateralization and bilateral recruitment, with later decreases in hemispheric lateralization. Mediation analysis linked intensity to later rebalancing through transient beta lateralization. The stroke analysis was exploratory, uncontrolled and limited to 10 participants.

How to interpret the findings

The mechanistic experiment enrolled only 20 healthy adults, used a motor-cortex protocol and measured short-term EEG responses rather than symptoms or function. The 10-person stroke cohort was exploratory and uncontrolled, and its association cannot establish prediction or treatment benefit. The main article was available in the review environment as a publisher abstract and accepted early version rather than a complete final article PDF; full supplementary methods were checked. No adverse-event result was identified in the accessible abstract or supplementary information. Findings should not be generalized to other targets, frequencies, diagnoses or individualized clinical dosing.

Equipment and disclosures

The supplementary stroke methods identify a CCY-I stimulator from Yiruide and a LiveAmp amplifier and LiveCap from Brain Products. The accessible record does not establish commercial performance or clinical superiority. No equipment is attributed to BrainMaster.

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing Natural Science Foundation and Beijing Nova Program. The authors declared no competing interests. No correction, retraction or expression-of-concern link appeared in the publisher page, retained Crossref relation fields or bounded DOI searches on October 31, 2026. AI-assisted source review, not independent human clinical review.

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