Acute repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation reactivates dopaminergic system in lesion rats

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) offers potential benefit as a therapeutic treatment for neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, the mechanism underlying the therapeutic effects of rTMS is still unknown. In this study, we investigated the rescue effects of rTMS in the lesioned rats by administering the neurotoxin MPTP (l-methyl-4-phenyl-l,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine). The rats received rTMS (10 trains of 25 pulses/s for 8 s) 48 h after MPTP injection, and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and NeuN expressions were investigated in the substantia nigra. The functional observational battery-hunched posture score for the MPTP-rTMS group was significantly lower and the number of rearing events was higher compared with the MPTP-sham group, these behavioral parameters revert to control levels. These results suggest that rTMS treatment reactivates the dopaminergic system in lesion rats.