Collaborative Antwerp Psychiatric Research Institute, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Antwerp, Belgium.
Neuropsychobiology. 2012;66(4):252-8. doi: 10.1159/000341881. Epub 2012 Oct 23.
Although high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been reported to improve mood symptoms in major depressive disorder (MDD), research on its impact on psychomotor symptoms is scarce. This study assessed the psychomotor effects of 1 and 10 sessions, respectively, of HF-rTMS over the left DLPFC.
Ten HF-rTMS sessions were applied in 21 medication-free MDD patients over a 2-week period. At the beginning, one placebo (sham)-controlled rTMS session was also applied in a cross-over, single-blind design. Psychomotor variables were digitally recorded during completion of a Fitts' task, at baseline, after the first and second real/sham session and at the end point.
The total 10-session treatment period resulted in a decrease of depression severity. One HF-rTMS session resulted in improvements on the Fitts' task, without a difference between active and sham stimulation, however. No further improvements occurred from session 2 to session 10.
No evidence was provided to link the observed psychomotor improvements to HF-rTMS stimulation, as a practice effect could have impacted the significant psychomotor outcomes.
虽然高频重复经颅磁刺激（HF-rTMS）作用于左背外侧前额叶皮质（DLPFC）已被报道可改善重度抑郁症（MDD）的情绪症状，但关于其对精神运动症状影响的研究却很少。本研究评估了分别进行 1 次和 10 次 HF-rTMS 治疗对左 DLPFC 的精神运动影响。
在 2 周的时间内，21 名未服用药物的 MDD 患者接受了 10 次 HF-rTMS 治疗。在开始时，还采用了交叉、单盲设计进行了一次安慰剂（假刺激）对照 rTMS 治疗。在基线、第一次和第二次真实/假刺激治疗后以及治疗结束时，通过 Fitts 任务完成过程中的数字记录来测量精神运动变量。
整个 10 次治疗期使抑郁严重程度降低。一次 HF-rTMS 治疗即可改善 Fitts 任务，且真实刺激和假刺激之间无差异，但从第二次治疗到第十次治疗则没有进一步的改善。
没有证据表明观察到的精神运动改善与 HF-rTMS 刺激有关，因为练习效应可能会影响到显著的精神运动结果。
