Determining the Optimal Number of Stimuli per Cranial Site during Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Mapping

Table 4

	Controlled
Participant factors
Age of subjects	Y
Gender of subjects	Y
Handedness of subjects	Y
Subjects prescribed medication	Y
Use of CNS active drugs (e.g., anticonvulsants)	Y
Presence of neurological/psychiatric disorders	Y
Any medical conditions	Y
History of specific repetitive motor activity	Y
Methodological factors
Position and contact of EMG electrodes	Y
Amount of contraction of target muscles	Y
Prior motor activity of the muscle to be tested	Y
Relaxation of muscles other than those tested	N
Coil type (size and geometry)	Y
Coil orientation	Y
Direction of induced current in the brain	Y
Coil location and stability	Y
Type of stimulator used (e.g., brand)	Y
Stimulation intensity	Y
Pulse shape (monophasic or biphasic)	Y
Determination of optimal hotspot	Y
The time between MEP trials	Y
Time between days of testing	Y
Subject attention (level of arousal) during testing	N
Method for determining threshold (active/resting)	Y
Number of MEP measures made	Y
Method for determining MEP size during analysis	Y
Total score/26	24

Key: Y = yes, N = no, CNS = central nervous system, EMG = electromyography, and MEP = motor evoked potential.