Effects of repetitive mechanical tactile stimulation interventions with stationary and moving patterns on paired-pulse depression

Abstract Background We investigated the effects of repetitive somatosensory stimulation (RSS) with stationary and moving pattern tactile stimulation on paired-pulse depression (PPD), which is a measure of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic inhibitory neural circuitry in primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Results In the stationary pattern condition, the PPD ratio tended to increase (uncorrected p = 0.044; corrected p = 0.088), whereas no significant difference was observed in the moving pattern condition. A significant negative correlation between the PPD ratio before intervention and the change rate of the PPD ratio was observed in the stationary pattern condition (r = − 0.837, p < 0.001). Conclusion The effect of RSS on the PPD depends on the tactile stimulation pattern.