Marjan Jahanshahi

Mark Hallett

Kornhuber and Deecke first recorded and reported the Bereitschaftspotential in 1964. The aim of this book is to bring together in a single volume some of the important research on the Bereitschaftspotential and other movement-related cortical potentials and to highlight and address some of the pertinent questions relating to the Bereitschaftspotential and to identify the key issues for future investigation in this field. This book represents a unique compilation of information about the Bereitschaftspotential and related cortical potentials and techniques for measuring preparatory processes in the brain. The book will be of interest to motor physiologists, psychologists and neurologists working in clinical or research laboratories.

Movement-Related Cortical Potentials

The Bereitschaftspotential

Ignacio Obeso

Antonio Oliviero

The potential efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation procedures for the management of specific symptoms in diverse neurological and psychiatric conditions has been tested in the past decade or so. For example, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over prefrontal areas has been extensively investigated as a treatment for patients with medication-resistant depression and has been shown to be associated with improvement of mood. Similarly, non-invasive stimulation techniques have been applied to various symptoms of Parkinson's disease such as bradykinesia and dyskinesias, with variables degrees of success reported. However, attempts to expand previously observed clinical improvements to other neurological disorders (e.g. Tourette's syndrome, autism, epilepsy) has been controversial. In trying to bypass potential confounding elements, researchers aim to target neural populations altered in disease to either increase or decrease their corrupted baseline activity. In addition, a complementary approach is to extend stimulation protocols that results enhanced behavior in healthy participants. This Frontiers Research Topic on non-invasive brain stimulation and enhancement of function tries to combine a series of articles from researchers who used non-invasive brain stimulation to aim improvement of either a motoric, cognitive or behavioral nature investigated behaviorally, physiologically or using brain imaging techniques in clinical populations. Investigation of the relation between enhancement of function in healthy populations and clinical improvement in patients with neurological or psychiatric disorders needs further consideration.

Marjan Jahanshahi

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