The effect of EEG lead configuration on early TMS–EEG artifacts

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) combined with electroencephalography (EEG) has strong potential for recording cortical reactivity and connectivity. However, this promise is hampered by TMS-induced EEG artifacts. Here, we examine the origins of these artifacts with phantom TMS-EEG recordings and simulations. We focus on two major types of artifacts: (1) the TMS pulse artifact during each ~0.2 ms TMS pulse and (2) the decay artifact that may last tens of milliseconds. We examine how these artifacts change as a function of the relative position between TMS coil windings and EEG electrode leads. We also examine the hypothesis that certain EEG lead configurations may reduce or even cancel out these artifacts. In experimental results across 23 different TMS coil / EEG lead configurations, the amplitudes between the TMS pulse artifact and the decay artifact were highly correlated (Spearman ρ = 0.86, <i>p</i> < 0.001), suggesting that the decay artifact is caused by the TMS pulse artifact. As predicted, in certain EEG lead configurations, both the TMS pulse and decay artifacts were minimized. The simulations confirmed that the TMS pulse artifacts depended on the electromagnetic induction from the TMS coil windings to the EEG leads. These results illuminate the generator mechanisms of-and possible means to reduce-both artifacts.