Gender impact on transcranial magnetic stimulation-based cortical excitability and cognition relationship in healthy individuals

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether cortical excitability, measured via transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), is associated with cognition in healthy individuals and whether gender and education have an impact on this relationship. METHODS: Fifty-four healthy individuals (31 males, mean age = 41.94, SD = 21.98; 23 females, mean age 48.57; SD = 22.84) underwent TMS to assess their resting motor threshold (RMT) and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) to assess cognition. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess the association between RMT, education, gender and cognition. RESULTS: The multiple regression model revealed a significant association between RBANS Total Index Score and RMT in the female group (B = 0.624, β = 0.602, P = 0.001) and not the male group (B = 0.048, β = 0.034, P = 0.858). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that lower cortical excitability is associated with better global cognition in healthy female and not male individuals. RMT could be further studied as a tool to better personalize brain stimulation protocols that aim at enhancing cognition.