Cerebellar iTBS in Patients With Disorders of Consciousness

Patients with disorders of consciousness(DOC) resulting from severe brain injury greatly burden caregivers, health care facilities, and society. However, there is no definitively effective treatment for patients with DOC. Previous studies showed the excitatory effect of cerebellar transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS) on motor cortex through the dentato-rubro-thalamic tract. Investigators aim to validate the effect of 5 consecutive sessions of intermittent theta-burst stimulation(iTBS) of bilateral cerebellar on level of consciousness of patients in vegetative state(VS)/unresponsive awakening state(UWS)or minimally conscious (MCS) state in a randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled, crossover study. TMS is a non-invasive and safe neural regulatory approach that is widely used in depression, schizophrenia, stroke, and Parkinson's disease.