DISCUSSION
ISCHEMIC STROKE
This single‐blind, randomized controlled design trial aimed to explore the differences in brain activity between patients with PISEI and healthy subjects during the execution of intricate cognitive activities by fNIRS, to provide an empirical basis for the feasibility of fNIRS as a rapid identification, diagnostic tool for PISEI, and in addition to exploring the efficacy of TMS on executive function in patients with PISEI and the changes in brain function. Specifically, we used fNIRS, a non‐invasive brain imaging technology, to monitor the hemoglobin content and hemodynamic differences between PISEI patients and healthy adults during the Stroop task in real‐time and dynamically, respectively, to summarize and analyze the altering patterns of neurovascular coupling effects in the brain regions of the two types of subjects. On the other hand, TMS with a frequency of 10 Hz was used to stimulate the left DLPFC of all subjects in a single session. The hemodynamic differences in the above subjects during the execution of Stroop task before and after TMS intervention were detected in real‐time by fNIRS to uncover the efficacy and the changes in brain function of TMS therapy of executive function in patients with ischemic stroke. The results of 32 eligible subjects who completed this protocol illustrated that PISEI patients had significantly higher activation of brain areas during the execution of Stroop task than in the resting state, but significantly lower than in healthy subjects. Moreover, PISEI patients with the high‐frequency TMS intervention indicated significant improvements in executive function, significantly higher activation of brain areas than before the intervention, and significantly greater functional connectivity of brain areas with each other. The implications of these results will be discussed below.