Influencing negative symptoms of schizophrenia with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation: a case study
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2007 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Acta Neuropsychiatrica |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Psychiatry, sexuology |
| Keywords | negative symptoms; schizophrenia; rTMS |
| Description | Background: The present trial was designed to investigate the influence of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on negative schizophrenic symptoms using high frequency stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in a simple blind randomised design. Methods: The study was carried out on a 42-year-old schizophrenic patient (paranoid subtype) with prominent negative symptoms who was firstly treated with sham rTMS during the first three weeks and then with real high frequency during the following three weeks. He was rated before and after the sham and after the real rTMS therapy for positive, negative and depressive symptoms. Results: rTMS was superior to sham treatment in reduction of negative and depressive symptoms. Conclusion: High frequency rTMS applied over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex led to a reduction of severity of negative symptoms in a patient with chronic schizophrenia and may be beneficial as an augmentation option to antipsychotics in the treatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia. |
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