Reliability of diaphragmatic motor-evoked potentials induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation

Abstract

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive technique to assess neural impulse conduction along the cortico-diaphragmatic pathway. The reliability of diaphragm motor-evoked potentials (MEP) induced by TMS is unknown. Notwithstanding large variability in MEP amplitude, we found good-to-excellent reproducibility of all MEP characteristics (latency, duration, amplitude, and area) both within- and between-day in healthy adult men and women. Our findings support the use of TMS and surface EMG to assess diaphragm activation in humans.