The unusual case of dental pain with sham repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: a benign idiosyncrasy or diagnostic opportunity?

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a promising treatment for major depressive disorder [1]. Recently, we investigated 10 sessions of high-frequency rTMS applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in chronic stroke survivors with depression (randomised controlled trial; ACTRN12619001303134; institutional ethics approval 200697). Stimulation was delivered at 110% resting motor threshold at 10 Hz for a total of 3000 pulses. Here we report the experience of a 51-year-old male with mild upper-limb impairment (Fugl-Meyer 49/66; structural imaging Figure 1), who experienced anatomically confined stimulus-evoked dental pain in response to sham stimulation.
Source: BRAIN STIMULATION: Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research in Neuromodulation - Category: Neurology Authors: Source Type: research