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Updated: Oct 29, 2025
Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
Published on: September 28, 2018
Continuous Theta-Burst Stimulation Over the Right Orbitofrontal Cortex in Treatment-Resistant Obsessive-Compulsive
Weiwei Liu1, Hua Shao2, Jing Liao1
1Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
Purpose:
Examining whether modulation of right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) activity by continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) affects obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms.
Patients And Methods:
A total of 28 treatment-resistant OCD participants were treated with either active or sham cTBS of the OFC twice per day, for five days a week, for 2 weeks, in a double-blinded manner. Clinical response to treatment was determined using the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS).
Results:
There were no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups after two weeks of treatment in the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale score (group*time interaction, F2,20=0.996, p=0.387) and other secondary outcome measures, including anxiety symptoms and responder rates. Depressive symptoms improved significantly in the active group (p=0.027), but the significant difference disappeared at 6 weeks (p=0.089).
Conclusion:
This is the first randomized controlled study using cTBS in the right OFC to observe the improvement of treatment-resistant OCD symptoms. It is safe to use cTBS, but 2 weeks of treatment is not enough to achieve a curative effect. Future studies are needed to explore more advanced stimulation parameters suitable for the treatment of OCD.
Clinical Trial Registration:
www.chictr.org.cn, identifier ChiCTR2000034814.
