Thesis Project Form

Most neurological and psychiatric condition share, as a common substrate, the alteration of cortical excitability and connectivity. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) combined with simultaneous high-density electroencephalography (hd-EEG) represents a straightforward way to gauge, directly and non – invasively, cortical excitability and connectivity in humans in virtually any portion of the human thalamocortical system.

The aim of the thesis is to perform a functional and effective connectivity analysis of brain responses to a transcranical magnetic stimulation TMS in two populations of patients affected by Parkinson's disease and Diskinesia induced by the assumption of Levodopa. Specifically, in this thesis we want to investigate whether changes in cortical information transmission occure along with the time from assumption of medication.

The candidate will learn to manage, to process and to analyse neurophysiological data (hdEEG signals and MRI images), to perform non parametric statistical analysis and to face source modelling problem.