Intermittent theta burst stimulation improved visual-spatial working memory in treatment-resistant schizophrenia: A...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Visual-spatial working memory (vsWM) deficits are a significant challenge in treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) with limited therapeutic options.
• Current treatments for vsWM impairment in TRS are unsatisfactory, necessitating novel interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) in improving vsWM function in patients with TRS.
• To explore the neurobiological changes associated with iTBS treatment in TRS patients.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 59 TRS patients allocated to iTBS or sham treatment over two weeks.
• Participants completed the vsWM n-back task, with neuroimaging (fALFF) and clinical symptom assessments before and after treatment.
• Healthy controls (HCs) were included for performance comparison.

Main Results:

• The iTBS group demonstrated significant improvements in n-back accuracy (ACC), particularly 3-back ACC, compared to the sham group.
• Post-treatment n-back performance in the iTBS group was comparable to that of HCs.
• iTBS modulated brain activity, increasing fALFF in right occipital areas and decreasing it in the right precuneus, with correlations between cognitive and neural changes.

Conclusions:

• Two weeks of iTBS is a potentially effective treatment for vsWM deficits in TRS.
• iTBS can modulate local brain activity and offers a promising avenue for clinical treatment of TRS.
• This intervention may help TRS patients achieve a more normal cognitive state.