Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2026
MRI-guided dmPFC-rTMS as a Treatment for Treatment-resistant Major Depressive Disorder
Published on: August 11, 2015
Efficacy of adjunctive high frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of left prefrontal cortex in
Sanjukta Ray1, S Haque Nizamie, Sayeed Akhtar
1Fraser Coast Integrated Mental Health Services, 185, Walker Street, Maryborough, Queensland-4650, Australia.
Objective:
To examine the efficacy of adjunctive left prefrontal high-frequency rTMS treatment in depression patients as compared to sham stimulation.
Method:
45 right handed moderate to severe depression patients according to ICD-10 DCR criteria were randomized to receive daily sessions of active or sham rTMS (10Hz, 90% of resting MT, 20 trains, 6s duration, 1200 pulses/day) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for 10 days. Depression and psychosis was rated using Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (SIGH-D) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) respectively before and after rTMS.
Result:
For SIGH-D scores, repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant effect of treatment over time as shown by interaction effect (Pillai's Trace F [1/38] = 56.75, p<.001, η(2) = .60). For BPRS, repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant interaction effect of treatment over time (Pillai's Trace F [1/38] = 39.87, p<.001, η(2) = .51). In psychotic depression patients, repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant effect of treatment over time for SIGH-D scores (Pillai's Trace F [1/25] = 43.04, p<.001, η(2) = .63) and BPRS scores (Pillai's Trace F [1/25] = 42.17, p<.001, η(2) = .63).
Conclusion:
High-frequency left prefrontal rTMS was well tolerated and found to be effective as add-on to standard pharmacotherapy in nonpsychotic as well as psychotic depression.
