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Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Electro Dermal Activity

Name: Theresa Bacher

University of Skvde

There are many neuroscientific techniques to study cognitive processes. Depending on the
research question it is important which technique will be chosen according to its weaknesses and
strengths. In the following essay will be two different neuroscientific techniques explained:
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Electro Dermal Activity (EDA).
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a method for research in neuroscience which can be
used for a good temporal resolution and an especially good functional resolution. Therefor TMS
could help to get a better understanding about cognitive tasks (Purves et al., 2013).
With certain frequencies and intensities, TMS can be used to disrupt a specific function of a part
of the cortex and produce transitory virtual lesions (Pascual-Leone, Bartres-Fazf, & Keenan,
1999). Thus TMS gives the possibility to measure connectivity between areas and also the
function of certain different brain areas and their correlation with a specific behavior.
With these possibilities, TMS can for example find an answer for research questions the sort of
whether a certain area of the brain is necessary for a certain performance of cognitive function or
a specific behavior (Jahanshahi & Rothwell, 2000).
Sadato et al. (1996) conducted a study with early blind subjects on reading Braille. With the use
of positron emission tomography (PET) Sadato et al. found not only activation in the sensory
cortex, they found even activity in the primary visual cortex. Sighted subject in contrast showed
only activation in the common sensory areas while reading embossed Roman letters.
TMS can help to answer the question which came up from these unexpected results: Is the
primary visual cortex necessary for reading Braille of early blinds or only an epiphenomenon of
tactile information processing?

The case of an early blind woman showed that after an ischemic stroke she had damage in the
occipital lobes but still functioning somatosensory functions but was no more able to read Braille
(Hamilton, Keenan, Catala, & Pascual-Leone, 2000).
Since cases in nature like this are really rare it is good to have the advantage with TMS to
replicate the experiment with different subjects. It is a non-invasive technique and also safe to
use when the guidelines are followed (Hallet, 2007).

Self-reports of people or not always honest and correct. Often, their subjective experience differs
widely from their physiological experience and is distorted. Sometimes study participants are not
consciously aware of their attitudes and emotions, or they do not want to admit it, because they
contradict their ideal self or because they want to be presented in a good light and therefor distort
a study. The objective measurement of skin conductance, Electrodermal Activitiy (EDA),
currently belongs among the most accurate methods to measure human responses objectively.
With measuring the EDA it is possible to answer questions of the sort of if a person shows
emotional response without being conscious aware about the emotion. A question to research
would be Are there any sex differences in jealousy in humans?
Buss, Larsen, Westen, & Semmelroth, (1992) were testing the hypothesis that men and women
differ in which form of infidelity sexual versus emotional. The men showed significant
increases in EDA when there were sexual images compared with emotional images. Women
showed the opposite effect.
Compared to other techniques, EDA is not expensive and has no risks.

References
Buss, D. M., Larsen, R. J., Westen, D., & Semmelroth, J. (1992). Sex differences in jealousy:
evolution,

physiology,

and

psychology.

Psychological

Science,

3(4),

251-255.

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1992.tb00038.x
Hallett, M. (2007). Transcranial magnetic simulation: A primer. Neuron, 55, 187-199.
doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2007.06.026
Hamilton, R., Keenan, J. P., Catala, M., & Pascual-Leone, A. (2000). Alexia for Braille following
bilateral occipital stroke in an early blind woman. NeuroReport, 11(2), 237-240.
doi:10.1097/00001756-200002070-00003
Jahanshahi, M., & Rothwell, J. (2000). Transcranial magnetic stimulation studies of cognition:
An emerging field. Experimental Brain Research, 131(1), 1-9. doi:10.1007/s002219900224
Pascual-Leone, A. (2000). Transcranial magnetic stimulation in cognitive neuroscience virtual
lesion, chronometry, and functional connectivity. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 10(2), 232237. doi:10.1016/s0959-4388(00)00081-7
Pascual-Leone, A., Bartres-Fazf, D., & Keenan, J. P. (1999). Transcranial magnetic stimulation:
Studying the brain--behaviour relationship by induction of 'virtual lesions'. Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 354(1387), 1229-1238.
doi:10.1098/rstb.1999.0476

Purves, D., Cabeza, R., Huettel, A. S., LaBar, K. S., Platt, M. L., & Woldorff, M. G. (2013).
Principles of cognitive neuroscience (2nd ed.). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates.
Sadato, N., Pascual-Leone, A., Grafmani, J., Ibaez, V., Deiber, M., Dold, G., & Hallett, M.
(1996). Activation of the primary visual cortex by Braille reading in blind subjects. Nature,
380(6574), 526-528. doi:10.1038/380526a0