Reply to letter to the editor

摘要

Thank you for the opportunity to reply to the commentary by Awiszus in regards to our article 'A practical guide to the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in the treatment of depression' [1]. In his letter Awiszus has critiqued our suggestion in regards to the method used for estimation of the resting motor threshold (RMT). First, Awiszus pointed out an ambiguity in our description of RMT methods that warrants clarification. He read our paper assuming that our description of RMT measurement being defined as the stimulation intensity that evokes 3 out of 5 or 5 out of 10 responses is meant to be exact and describes this as a strict relative frequency estimator. Hopefully most readers familiar with rTMS procedures, and the methods of the cited clinical trials, will have interpreted the original paper not in the strict manner that this author has but as meaning the more commonly used 'relative' approach ('at least' 3 of 5 etc rather than exactly 3 of 5).