Fig. 1. Time line of experimental procedures. First, detailed two-dimensional maps in motor cortex of the BB, APB, OO, and TA were obtained, using an eight-shaped coil that was moved along a 1 × 1 cm grid referenced to the vertex (Cz, left-most panel; subject's head viewed from above). Days later, seven different manipulation experiments separated by at least 1 week were conducted in randomized order. Immediately before each manipulation (PRE), excitability (motor threshold, MEP sum) and location (COG) of the BB map were measured along one axis, testing five grid points 1.5 cm apart (panel beneath PRE). The central point (COG) corresponded to the BB COG obtained in the initial two-dimensional mapping experiment. The manipulations consisted either of ischemic nerve block of the hand (the INB-alone control experiment), focal 0.1 Hz rTMS of the face representation in motor cortex (the FACE-alone control experiment), or the combination of rTMS delivered to one of five different sites (FACE, HAND, ARM, LEG, or ARM/HAND overlap representation in motor cortex) and INB. The onset of INB (inflation of a tourniquet at the forearm) is indicated by the upward facing arrow. MEP in the BB, APB, OO, and TA elicited by rTMS were monitored throughout. Complete motor block to the APB was reached on average after 33.7 min (indicated by the vertical dashed line). At this point (in the FACE-alone experiment after 30 min) rTMS was stopped, and the LATE measurements of the BB map were started following the same protocol as the PRE measurements (panel beneath LATE). Immediately thereafter INB was discontinued (downward facing arrow). Further measurements of the BB map were obtained 20, 40, and 60 min (P20, P40, P60) after the end of the LATE measurements. The data were analyzed by comparing the LATE, P20, P40, and P60 measures with the PRE measures, using two-way repeated measure ANOVA with experimental manipulation and time as the within-subject effects.