Motor Improvements Following Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation with kTMP: A Case Study of Cerebellar Stroke
Cerebellar ataxia results in debilitating impairments in balance, gait, and cognition, with no established effective treatments. Kilohertz transcranial magnetic perturbation (kTMP) is a novel subthreshold non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) method that delivers strong, subthreshold electric fields to the cerebellar cortex without discomfort. We present the case of a 78-year-old patient with cerebellar ataxia following hemorrhagic stroke who underwent amplitude-modulated kTMP (AM-kTMP) targeted to vermal and paravermal cerebellar regions. The design involved an open-label phase followed by a fixed-sequence sham-active comparison. Active AM-kTMP, delivered as part of a NIBS-training protocol, produced improvements on clinical scales of ataxia alongside enhanced gait stability, with no device-related adverse reactions, representing a promising NIBS intervention for cerebellar disorders.
Authors
- Christina Merrick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4966-9138)
- Fredy Miranda-Casasola
- Amanda Chirino‐Pérez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2908-1284)
- Richard B. Ivry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4728-5130)
- Ludovica Labruna (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3978-591X)
- Daniel Sheltraw
Institutions
- Magnetic Development (United States) (US)
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Cerebellum
- Published
- 2026-09-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-026-02078-z
- Primary Topic
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke