Spatially profiling the molecular effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in aged rodent brains. [bulkRNA]

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a widely adopted non-invasive tool used to study the brain and as an alternative treatment for neurological disorders. However, the molecular mechanisms affected in the brain regions at and beyond the stimulation site, and how this varies with different rTMS protocols in an aged brain remains unclear. Here we use a combination of bulk RNA-sequencing and spatial transcriptomics to map the molecular changes across a mouse brain in response to two commonly used rTMS protocols: intermittent (iTBS) and continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS). Whole transcriptome sequencing data generated from RNA extracted from the sensorimotor cortex of wildtype aged (57-72 weeks old) C57BL/6J mice that received a one-off stimulation session of either intermittent theta-burst (iTBS), continuous theta-burst (cTBS) or sham stimulation. A total of five animals were included in each treatment group. Animals were euthanised three hours post-stimulation, after which the brain was removed and the sensorimotor cortex was dissected and extracted for RNA.