Abstract: Objective To explore the effect of low frequency repetitive transranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on unilateral spatial neglect (USN). Methods 40 stroke patients with USN were divided into treatment group (n=20) and control group (n=20). Patients in the treatment group were treated with low frequency rTMS for 2 weeks. The USN degree of these groups were evaluated before and after the treatment. Results There was no significant difference of USN degree between these groups before the treatment (P>0.05); Compared with the control group, the treatment group improved significantly after the treatment (P<0.05). The USN degree of patients in the treatment group decreased significantly after the treatment (P<0.05), while patients in the controlled group had no difference (P>0.05). Conclusion USN induced by stroke could be improved obviously through low frequency rTMS.

Key words: unilateral spatial neglect, low frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, stroke, rehabilitation