Acquisition of ischemic tolerance by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the rat hippocampus

We investigated the acquisition of ischemic tolerance in the rat hippocampus using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Rats received 1000 pulses/day for 7 days, and the field excitatory postsynaptic potentials were measured in the hippocampal CA1. After slices were exposed to ischemic conditions, long-term potentiation (LTP) was induced. The LTP of the stimulated group was enhanced compared with the LTP of the sham control group in each ischemic condition, suggesting that rTMS has the potential to protect hippocampal function from ischemia.