Figure 1.

Experimental course of the present study. Transcraninal magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied over the left motor cortical representational area of the right first dorsal interosseous muscle (FDI) with an intensity to elicit motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) with a peak-to-peak amplitude of on average 1 mV (baseline—BL 1). At 1.5 h after intake of 400 mg SULP or placebo (PLC) medication, a second baseline (baseline 2—BL 2) was determined to control for a possible influence of the drug on cortical excitability, and adjusted if necessary (baseline 3—BL 3). Two theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TBS) protocols were used: (1) intermittent TBS (iTBS) and (2) continuous TBS (cTBS). Immediately after TBS, MEPs were recorded for 30 min at every 5 min, then at every 15 min for up to 60 min after the end of stimulation.