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Review
. 2019 Aug 13;21(9):89.
doi: 10.1007/s11920-019-1076-2.

Investigational and Therapeutic Applications of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Schizophrenia

Urvakhsh Meherwan Mehta  1 , Shalini S Naik  2 , Milind Vijay Thanki  2 , Jagadisha Thirthalli  2
Affiliations
Review

Investigational and Therapeutic Applications of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Schizophrenia

Urvakhsh Meherwan Mehta et al. Curr Psychiatry Rep. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: This current review summarizes the investigational and therapeutic applications of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in schizophrenia.

Recent findings: Fairly consistent findings of an impaired cortical excitation-inhibition balance, cortical plasticity, and motor resonance have been reported in schizophrenia. Cortical connectivity impairments have also been demonstrated in motor and prefrontal brain regions. In terms of treatment, the best support is for 1-Hz TMS to the left temporoparietal cortex for the short-term treatment of persistent auditory hallucinations. High-frequency TMS to the left prefrontal cortex improves negative and cognitive symptoms, but with inconsistent and small effects. TMS combined with diverse brain mapping techniques and clinical evaluation can unravel critical brain-behavior relationships relevant to schizophrenia. These provide critical support to the conceptualization of schizophrenia as a connectopathy with anomalous cortical plasticity. Adaptive modulation of these aberrant brain networks in a neuroscience-informed manner drives short-term therapeutic gains in difficult-to-treat symptoms of schizophrenia.

Keywords: Brain stimulation; Connectivity; Neuromodulation; Psychosis; Resistant schizophrenia; TMS; Treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Urvakhsh Meherwan Mehta serves as an Associate Editor at Schizophrenia Research and receives an honorarium from Elsevier for the same.

Shalini S Naik, Milind Vijay Thanki, and Jagadisha Thirthalli each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Schematic representation of different investigational TMS approaches
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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