Xia Xin, Huang Chuan, Chen Zhixin, Lei Wenwen, Yue Yuchuan
Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Chengdu Fourth People's Hospital, Chengdu Mental Health Center, Chengdu, China.
Asian J Psychiatr. 2025 Aug;110:104573. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2025.104573. Epub 2025 Jun 5.
Cognition is commonly compromised in depression, and non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has been well-established in the treatment of depression, but its efficacy for treating cognitive deficit has not been fully elucidated. Based on the available evidence on NIBS, we conducted a meta-analysis to systematically assess the efficacy of NIBS in improving cognitive deficits in depressed patients.
A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library databases up to February 20, 2025. we separately assessed the effects on: global cognitive function, learning and memory, working memory, language, psychomotor speed, attention, visuospatial ability, and domains of executive function (including attentional switching, verbal fluency, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility).
A total of 23 randomized controlled trials (n = 1267) were included in this study. Analyses showed that NIBS produced significant improvement in the domains of global cognitive function (SMD=0.24, 95 % CI [0.03, 0.46]) and learning and memory (SMD=0.46, 95 % CI [0.06, 0.85]). Subgroup analyses showed that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was significantly better than the placebo control group in terms of global cognitive function improvement (SMD=0.32, 95 % CI [0.07, 0.57]). However, other cognitive dimensions showed no significant improvement with NIBS CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that NIBS has significant efficacy on global cognitive function, learning and memory in depressed patients. Effects on other domains were not significant. Future high-quality studies are needed to validate which stimulation programs are most effective.
抑郁症患者的认知功能通常会受到损害，非侵入性脑刺激（NIBS）在抑郁症治疗中已得到充分证实，但其治疗认知缺陷的疗效尚未完全阐明。基于NIBS的现有证据，我们进行了一项荟萃分析，以系统评估NIBS改善抑郁症患者认知缺陷的疗效。
截至2025年2月20日，在PubMed、科学网、Embase、Ovid MEDLINE和Cochrane图书馆数据库中进行文献检索。我们分别评估了对以下方面的影响：整体认知功能、学习和记忆、工作记忆、语言、心理运动速度、注意力、视觉空间能力以及执行功能领域（包括注意力转换、语言流畅性、抑制控制和认知灵活性）。
本研究共纳入23项随机对照试验（n = 1267）。分析表明，NIBS在整体认知功能领域（标准化均数差[SMD]=0.24，95%可信区间[CI][0.03，0.46]）和学习与记忆领域（SMD=0.46，95%CI[0.06，0.85]）产生了显著改善。亚组分析表明，经颅磁刺激（TMS）在改善整体认知功能方面显著优于安慰剂对照组（SMD=0.32，95%CI[0.07，0.57]）。然而，NIBS对其他认知维度无显著改善。结论：我们的研究结果表明，NIBS对抑郁症患者的整体认知功能、学习和记忆具有显著疗效。对其他领域的影响不显著。未来需要高质量的研究来验证哪种刺激方案最有效。
