rTMS for the treatment of psychiatric disorders: a review about training courses and materials and the presentation of the training materials of the German Society for Brain Stimulation in Psychiatry.

There is an increasing interest in the treatment of mental disorders such as depression using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Treatment guidelines for the application of rTMS are available, but they focus primarily on scientific evidence for efficacy and tolerability. Other aspects that are relevant for the training of practitioners, such as implementation in the national health system as well as organizational, formal, and practical aspects, are not covered in detail in these guidelines.

High dosage accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation without precision targeting and dosing in depression: an open-label pilot study.

Background: High dosage accelerated intermittent theta-burst stimulation (aiTBS) protocols (10 sessions per day for 5 days) combined with precision targeting and depth adjusted iTBS intensity yield high response and remission rates in depression. However, disentangling their efficacy components to develop pragmatic mental health solutions is challenging. This pilot study applied such a high dosage aiTBS protocol without using any precision features.

A comparative analysis of technical data: At-home vs. in-clinic application of transcranial direct current stimulation in depression.

Objective: The application of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) at home for the treatment of depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders presents both significant opportunities and inherent challenges. Ensuring safety and maintaining high-quality stimulation are paramount for the efficacy and safety of at-home tDCS. This study investigates tDCS quality based on its technical parameters as well as safety of at-home and in-clinic tDCS applications comparing the data from two randomized controlled trials in patients with major depressive disorder.

Effectiveness of rTMS compared to SSRI as early treatment of depression - study protocol of a randomized controlled trial (Early-TMS).

Psychotherapy and antidepressant medication are considered first-line treatment options for major depressive disorder (MDD). However, a high proportion of patients do not respond to initial treatment, underlining the need for alternative treatment methods. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been established in the treatment of MDD, but the available evidence is limited to forms of MDD with varying degrees of treatment resistance.

Neural response during prefrontal theta burst stimulation: Interleaved TMS-fMRI of full iTBS protocols.

Background: Left prefrontal intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) has emerged as a safe and effective transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment protocol in depression. Though network effects after iTBS have been widely studied, the deeper mechanistic understanding of target engagement is still at its beginning. Here, we investigate the feasibility of a novel integrated TMS-fMRI setup and accelerated echo planar imaging protocol to directly observe the immediate effects of full iTBS treatment sessions.

Characterizing cognitive subtypes in schizophrenia using cortical curvature.

Cognitive deficits are a core symptom of schizophrenia, but research on their neural underpinnings has been challenged by the heterogeneity in deficits' severity among patients. Here, we address this issue by combining logistic regression and random forest to classify two neuropsychological profiles of patients with high (HighCog) and low (LowCog) cognitive performance in two independent samples. We based our analysis on the cortical features grey matter volume (VOL), cortical thickness (CT), and mean curvature (MC) of N = 57 patients (discovery sample) and validated the classification in an independent sample (N = 52).

Neurocognitive function as outcome and predictor for prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation in major depressive disorder: an analysis from the DepressionDC trial.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the prefrontal cortex might beneficially influence neurocognitive dysfunctions associated with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, previous studies of neurocognitive effects of tDCS have been inconclusive. In the current study, we analyzed longitudinal, neurocognitive data from 101 participants of a randomized controlled multicenter trial (DepressionDC), investigating the efficacy of bifrontal tDCS (2 mA, 30 min/d, for 6 weeks) in patients with MDD and insufficient response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI).

Transcranial magnetic stimulation as a feasible, non-invasive, neuromodulatory intervention in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. A very first proof of concept.

Introduction: A neurobiological feature of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a global decrease in neuronal connectivity, which leads to significant impairments in everyday functionality. Non-invasive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) could potentially positively influence neuronal plasticity but has not yet been studied in FASD. The present trial addresses this gap, making it the first-ever study of rTMS in FASD.