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. 2021 Feb 18:12:626479.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.626479. eCollection 2021.

Intermittent Theta-Burst Stimulation Over the DorsoLateral PreFrontal Cortex (DLPFC) in Healthy Subjects Produces No Cumulative Effect on Cortical Excitability

Noomane Bouaziz  1 , Charles Laidi  2 , Fanny Thomas  1 , Palmyre Schenin-King Andrianisaina  1 , Virginie Moulier  1   3 , Dominique Januel  1
Affiliations

Intermittent Theta-Burst Stimulation Over the DorsoLateral PreFrontal Cortex (DLPFC) in Healthy Subjects Produces No Cumulative Effect on Cortical Excitability

Noomane Bouaziz et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) is a design of repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) and could be a candidate to replace rTMS in the treatment of depression, thanks to its efficacy, shorter duration, and ease of use. The antidepressant mechanism of iTBS, and whether this mechanism is mediated by a modulation of cortical excitability, remains unknown. Methods: Using a randomized double-blind, sham-controlled trial, 30 healthy volunteers received either iTBS or a sham treatment targeting the left DorsoLateral PreFrontal Cortex (L-DLPFC), twice a day over 5 consecutive days. Cortical excitability was measured before and after the 5 days of stimulation. Results: No difference in cortical excitability was observed between active or sham iTBS. Conclusion: Our study does not support any effect on cortical excitability of repetitive iTBS targeting the L-DLPFC.

Keywords: cortical excitability transcranial magnetic stimulation; depression; iTBS; neuro modulation; neuroexcitability; rTMS (repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Delta rMT in active and placebo groups in left cortex. rMT, resting motor threshold; Delta rMT, difference in rMT before and after iTBS.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Delta MEPs in active and placebo groups in left cortex. MEPs, Motor Evoked Potentials at 120% of rMT; Delta MEPs, difference in MEPs before and after iTBS.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Delta ICF in active and placebo groups in left cortex. ICF, intracortical facilitation; Delta ICF, difference in ICF before and after iTBS. Delta: difference in the resting Motor Threshold (rMT, Figure 1) after minus before active or sham stimulation, the Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs, Figure 2) and Intracortical Facilitation (ICF) before and after intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) in the placebo (blue) and the active (orange) arm. Hashed lines delineate quartile of the distribution; to central hashed lines refer to the mean of the distribution. We choose the violin plots to provide information about the distribution of the variables, which is not possible with box plots and/or scatter plots. We believe that this representation of the results gives additional information to the reader. The x axis represents both the placebo (blue) and active (orange) group.
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