Cotelli M, Manenti R, Cappa S F, Zanetti O, Miniussi C
IRCCS S. Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.
Eur J Neurol. 2008 Dec;15(12):1286-92. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2008.02202.x.
Word-finding difficulty (anomia) is commonly observed in Alzheimer's dementia (AD). The aim of this study was to assess the effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) on picture naming in 24 probable AD patients with different degrees of cognitive decline.
High-frequency rTMS was applied to the left and right dlPFC during object and action naming in AD patients. A sham stimulation was used as a control condition.
Whilst, as previously reported, stimulation to both the left and the right dlPFC improved action, but not object naming in the mild AD group; an improved naming accuracy for both classes of stimuli was found in the moderate to severe group.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to the dlPFC improves naming performance also in the advanced stages of AD. Moreover, in the severe group the effect is not specific for action naming, as in the case of the mild AD group. These findings suggest that rTMS can affect the intrinsic ability of the brain to restore or compensate for damaged function and may represent an useful new tool for cognitive rehabilitation.
在阿尔茨海默病性痴呆（AD）中常观察到找词困难（命名性失语）。本研究旨在评估对24例不同程度认知衰退的可能AD患者，将重复经颅磁刺激（rTMS）应用于背外侧前额叶皮质（dlPFC）对图片命名的影响。
在AD患者进行物体和动作命名时，对其左侧和右侧dlPFC施加高频rTMS。使用假刺激作为对照条件。
虽然如先前报道的那样，对轻度AD组的左侧和右侧dlPFC进行刺激均改善了动作命名，但未改善物体命名；在中度至重度组中，两类刺激的命名准确性均有所提高。
对dlPFC施加重复经颅磁刺激在AD晚期也能改善命名表现。此外，在重度组中，这种效应不像轻度AD组那样对动作命名具有特异性。这些发现表明，rTMS可以影响大脑恢复或补偿受损功能的内在能力，可能是认知康复的一种有用新工具。
