Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 12, 2026
Protocol for Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation with Symptom Provocation to Treat Obsessive-compulsive Disorder
Published on: November 25, 2025
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation as an adjunct to constraint-induced therapy: an exploratory randomized
Matthew P Malcolm1, William J Triggs, Kathye E Light
1Department of Occupational Therapy and NeuroRehabilitation Research Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Objective:
To test the potential adjuvant effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on motor learning in a group of stroke survivors undergoing constraint-induced therapy (CIT) for upper-limb hemiparesis.
Design:
This was a prospective randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, parallel group study. Nineteen individuals, one or more years poststroke, were randomized to either a rTMS + CIT (n = 9) or a sham rTMS + CIT (n = 10) group and participated in the 2-wk intervention.
Results:
Regardless of group assignment, participants demonstrated significant gains on the primary outcome measures: the Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) and the Motor Activity Log (MAL)--Amount of Use, and on secondary outcome measures including the Box and Block Test (BBT) and the MAL--How Well. Participants receiving rTMS failed to show differential improvement on either primary outcome measure.
Conclusions:
Although this study provided further evidence that even relatively brief sessions of CIT can have a substantial effect, it provided no support for adjuvant use of rTMS.
