RESUMEN
Objective:To explore the effect of high-frequency repeated magnetic stimulation on the body-specific attention of healthy adults.Methods:Forty healthy adults were recruited and randomly divided into a repeated stimulation group and a sham stimulation group, each of 20. A " Pathleader" medical device which can produce magnetism was used to stimulate the initial segment of the deep branch of the radial nerve on each subject′s non-dominant side in the repeated stimulation group. The intensity was set within the subject′s tolerable range but sufficient to induce obvious dorsiflexion of the wrist joint. The frequency was 50Hz, the stimulation time was 2s with 1s intervals. The entire stimulation sequence lasted 36min. In the sham stimulation group, the device and parameters were the same but the coil was rotated 90° so there was no actual stimulation. The difference between the reaction time in the body condition and the reaction time in the control condition was defined as body-specific attention. Body-specific attention was quantified before stimulation, right after stimulation and 10 minutes later.Results:Right after stimulation body-specific attention was no different from before stimulation in either group. Ten minutes after real stimulation, body-specific attention had increased significantly, but there was no significant difference in the sham stimulation group.Conclusion:High-frequency repeated magnetic stimulation of a peripheral nerve can improve the body-specific attention of neurologically-intact healthy adults. The effect may arise from initial inhibition followed by enhancement.