Progress in the application of navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation on brain functional areas accurate mapping in brain tumor surgery

Maximize the extent of tumor removal while maximize the preservation of neurological function is the goal of brain tumor surgery. Therefore, brain eloquent functional area mapping of both cortical and subcortical level is the most important procedure during operation. As a new method of noninvasive brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) shows its value in neuroscience. Combining with neuronavigation, navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) can localize functional cortices in both brain tumor patients and healthy volunteers noninvasively and accurately. With the help of neuroanatomical structure and brain functional imaging information fusion, nTMS can localize motor cortex and language related cortex preoperatively and provide reliable connection information of subcortical fiber tracts during surgery. nTMS can also monitor and evaluate function recovery level and brain plasticity patterns post⁃operation, while further improve patients' outcome and quality of life and reduce postoperative complications as well. nTMS shows its significant value applied in brain tumor surgery. DOI：10.3969/j.issn.1672⁃6731.2019.12.004