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Single-pulse TMS functional mapping of sensorimotor cortex during decision-making task
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  • Published: 07 February 2026

Single-pulse TMS functional mapping of sensorimotor cortex during decision-making task

  • Anna Udoratina1,2 na1,
  • Nikita Grigorev1 na1,
  • Andrey Savosenkov2,
  • Denis Ermolaev3,
  • Usama Muhammad5,
  • Anton Kiselev4,
  • Vladimir Maksimenko1,2,5 &
  • …
  • Susanna Gordleeva1,2,3 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

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  • Biological techniques
  • Neuroscience

Abstract

Perceptual decision-making involves distinct sub-processes, including sensory encoding, decision formation, and motor execution. Studying the specific contributions of cortical areas to these components could deepen our understanding of decision-making mechanisms and inform therapeutic approaches for cognitive impairment. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (spTMS) enables the functional investigation of cortical involvement during task performance, revealing the participation of specific regions in cognitive processes. When combined with the drift diffusion model (DDM), spTMS can precisely characterize effects on different decision sub-processes. In this study, 30 healthy participants performed a perceptual decision-making task requiring right-hand finger responses to complex visual stimuli. We delivered spTMS to sensorimotor cortex regions at two time points during task performance (200 ms and 800 ms post-stimulus onset). Results demonstrated region-specific modulation patterns: stimulation of the premotor dorsal caudal cortex (PMdc) selectively reduced reaction time (RT) by decreasing non-decision time (NDT), indicating its role in motor preparation. In contrast, primary motor cortex (M1) and primary somatosensory cortex (S1) stimulation produced opposing effects - decreased NDT coupled with increased evidence accumulation time (EAT) - resulting in no net RT change. These findings highlight how spTMS combined with DDM can dissect distinct cortical contributions to decision-making sub-processes.

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Data availability

The datasets used and analysed during the current study available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the following sources: Nikita Grigorev, Vladimir Maksimenko and Susanna Gordleeva from the Basic Research Program of the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University); Andrey Savosenkov, Denis Ermolaev from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Grant No. FSWR-2025-0009). This work was supported in part by the Russian Science Foundation under Project No. 25-69-00047, covering the development and execution of the experimental design.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Anna Udoratina and Nikita Grigorev.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Cognition and Decision making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, HSE University, Moscow, 101000, Russian Federation

    Anna Udoratina, Nikita Grigorev, Vladimir Maksimenko & Susanna Gordleeva

  2. Neuromorphic computing center, Neimark University, Nizhny Novgorod, 603081, Russian Federation

    Anna Udoratina, Andrey Savosenkov, Vladimir Maksimenko & Susanna Gordleeva

  3. Neurodynamics and Cognitive Technology Laboratory, Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod, 603022, Russian Federation

    Denis Ermolaev & Susanna Gordleeva

  4. Coordinating Center for Fundamental Research, National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine, Moscow, 101990, Russian Federation

    Anton Kiselev

  5. Faculty of Computer science and Engineering, Innopolis University, Innopolis, 420500, Russian Federation

    Usama Muhammad & Vladimir Maksimenko

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Contributions

S.G. and V.M. conceived the experiment, N.G. and A.S. prepared experimental protocol, A.U., N.G., A.S. and D.E. conducted the experiment, A.U. analyzed behavioral data, U.M. fitted drift-diffusion model, A.U., N.G. and V.M analyzed model parameters. A.U. and N.G. wrote the main manuscript text, N.G., A.K. and S.G. prepared discussion. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Susanna Gordleeva.

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Udoratina, A., Grigorev, N., Savosenkov, A. et al. Single-pulse TMS functional mapping of sensorimotor cortex during decision-making task. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35439-z

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  • Received: 04 July 2025

  • Accepted: 06 January 2026

  • Published: 07 February 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35439-z

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Keywords

  • Perceptual decision-making
  • transcranial magnetic stimulation
  • functional mapping
  • drift diffusion model
  • sensorimotor cortex
  • reaction time
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