Translational Research Center, University Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Neurocenter, Luzerner Kantonsspital, Luzern, Switzerland.
Schizophr Bull. 2020 Feb 26;46(2):286-293. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbz078.
Social interaction is impaired in schizophrenia, including the use of hand gestures, which is linked to poor social perception and outcome. Brain imaging suggests reduced neural activity in a left-lateralized frontoparietal network during gesture preparation; therefore, gesturing might be improved through facilitation of left hemispheric brain areas or via disruption of interhemispheric inhibition from the right homolog. This study tested whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocols would improve gesture performance in schizophrenia. This randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover trial applied 3 different protocols of rTMS separated by 48 h. Twenty right-handed schizophrenia patients and 20 matched healthy controls received facilitatory intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) over the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), inhibitory continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) over right inferior parietal lobe (IPL), and placebo over left IPL in randomized order. Primary outcome was change in the test of upper limb apraxia (TULIA), rated from video recordings of hand gesture performance. Secondary outcome was change in manual dexterity using the coin rotation task. Participants improved on both tasks following rTMS compared with baseline. Only patients improved gesture performance following right IPL cTBS compared with placebo (P = .013). The results of the coin rotation parallel those of the TULIA, with improvements following right IPL cTBS in patients (P = .001). Single sessions of cTBS on the right IPL substantially improved both gesture performance accuracy and manual dexterity. The findings point toward an inhibition of interhemispheric rivalry as a potential mechanism of action.
社交互动在精神分裂症中受损,包括手势的使用,这与较差的社会认知和结果有关。脑成像研究表明,在手势准备过程中,左侧额顶叶网络的神经活动减少;因此,通过促进左半球大脑区域或通过破坏右侧同源物的大脑半球间抑制,手势可能会得到改善。本研究测试了重复经颅磁刺激(rTMS)方案是否会改善精神分裂症患者的手势表现。这项随机、安慰剂对照、双盲、交叉试验应用了 3 种不同的 rTMS 方案,间隔 48 小时。20 名右利手精神分裂症患者和 20 名匹配的健康对照者以随机顺序接受左侧额下回(IFG)促通性间歇性经颅磁刺激(iTBS)、右侧顶下小叶(IPL)抑制性连续经颅磁刺激(cTBS)和左侧 IPL 安慰剂治疗。主要结局是上肢失用症测试(TULIA)的变化,通过手部运动表现的视频记录进行评估。次要结局是使用硬币旋转任务的手部灵巧度的变化。与基线相比,rTMS 后所有参与者在两项任务上均有改善。只有患者在右侧 IPL cTBS 后与安慰剂相比改善了手势表现(P =.013)。硬币旋转任务的结果与 TULIA 平行,患者在右侧 IPL cTBS 后表现出改善(P =.001)。单次右侧 IPL cTBS 可显著提高手势表现的准确性和手部灵巧度。这些发现表明,作为一种潜在的作用机制,对大脑半球间竞争的抑制可能是有效的。