Research and clinical application of transcranial magnetic stimulation in children with head injury: method overview

According to research, transcranial magnetic stimulation has potential as a non-invasive prognostic method to quantify neurophysiological changes of brain after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The pathophysiological basis of changes in transcranial magnetic stimulation parameters in TBI includes impaired regulation of neurotransmitter release, changes in receptor expression, damage to interneurons and microcytoarchitectonics, which provokes a disturbance in the functional balance between cortical excitation and inhibition. The vulnerability of inhibitory mechanisms of interneurons due to decreased levels of GABAB receptor-mediated cortical inhibition was found to be a peculiarity of the pediatric population with the consequences of TBI. The purpose of this publication was to analyze the most informative parameters of diagnostic transcranial magnetic stimulation in the pediatric population with the consequences of TBI based on the available literature.