Reproducibility of intracortical inhibition and facilitation using the paired-pulse paradigm.

We have evaluated the reproducibility of intracortical inhibition (ICI) and facilitation (ICF) studied with paired-pulse focal transcranial magnetic stimulation. Three investigators studied the same subjects (n = 4) in three different sessions. A high variability was shown across subjects [coefficient of variation, (cv) 67.3% for ICI and 21.2% for ICF]. Intersession variability was up to 37.1% for ICI and 22.7% for ICF. Interinvestigator variability was 17.3% for ICI and negligible for ICF. Our results may have implications for planning future studies. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.