1. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for generalised anxiety disorder: a pilot randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled trial.
- Author
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Diefenbach GJ, Bragdon LB, Zertuche L, Hyatt CJ, Hallion LS, Tolin DF, Goethe JW, and Assaf M
- Subjects
- Adult, Decision Making physiology, Double-Blind Method, Female, Functional Neuroimaging, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Pilot Projects, Treatment Outcome, Young Adult, Anxiety Disorders therapy, Prefrontal Cortex physiology, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
- Abstract
Background: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) holds promise for treating generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) but has only been studied in uncontrolled research., Aims: This is the first randomised controlled trial (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01659736) to investigate the efficacy and neural correlates of rTMS in GAD., Method: Twenty five participants (active n = 13; sham, n = 12) enrolled. rTMS was targeted at the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, 1 Hz, 90% resting motor threshold)., Results: Response and remission rates were higher in the active v. sham groups and there were significant group × time interactions for anxiety, worry and depressive symptoms, favouring active v. sham. In addition, right DLPFC activation during a decision-making gambling task increased at post-treatment for active rTMS only, and changes in neuroactivation correlated significantly with changes in worry symptoms., Conclusions: Findings provide preliminary evidence that rTMS may improve GAD symptoms in association with modifying neural activity in the stimulation site., (© The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016.)
- Published
- 2016
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