Quantitative review of the efficacy of slow-frequency magnetic brain stimulation in major depressive disorder
- 27 January 2010
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Psychological Medicine
- Vol. 40 (11), 1789-1795
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s003329171000005x
Abstract
Background: Slow-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the frontal cortex has been suggested as a safer and better tolerable alternative to fast-frequency rTMS in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The aim of the present study was to examine the efficacy of slow-frequency rTMS to the frontal cortex in MDD.Method: A literature search was carried out in the databases PubMed and Web of Science in the period between January 1994 and July 2009 with the search terms ‘depression’ and ‘transcranial magnetic stimulation’. Nine double-blind sham-controlled parallel intention-to-treat studies (252 patients) fulfilled inclusion criteria and were entered in a random-effects meta-analysis.Results: The test for heterogeneity was not significant (QT=9.63,p=0.38). An overall weighted moderate mean effect size (d=0.63, 95% confidence interval=0.03–1.24) for active treatment was observed.Conclusions: The findings suggest that slow-frequency rTMS to the frontal cortex is more effective than sham treatment and may be equally effective as fast-frequency rTMS in the treatment of MDD.This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
- Opposite effects of high and low frequency rTMS on mood in depressed patients: Relationship to baseline cerebral activity on PETJournal of Affective Disorders, 2009
- Effect of age, gender, menopausal status, and ovarian hormonal level on rTMS in treatment-resistant depressionPsychoneuroendocrinology, 2008
- Antidepressant efficacy of high-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in double-blind sham-controlled designs: a meta-analysisPsychological Medicine, 2008
- Priming Stimulation Enhances the Effectiveness of Low-Frequency Right Prefrontal Cortex Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Major DepressionJournal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 2008
- Interrelations between motivational stance, cortical excitability, and the frontal electroencephalogram asymmetry of emotion: A transcranial magnetic stimulation studyHuman Brain Mapping, 2007
- Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) at high and low frequency: an efficacious therapy for major drug-resistant depression?Clinical Neurophysiology, 2005
- Preconditioning of Low-Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation: Evidence for Homeostatic Plasticity in the Human Motor CortexJournal of Neuroscience, 2004
- Slow right perfrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation as a reatment for medication-resistant depression: A double-blind, placebo-controlled studyDepression and Anxiety, 2004
- Clarifying the emotive functions of asymmetrical frontal cortical activityPsychophysiology, 2003
- Neuronal tissue polarization induced by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation?NeuroReport, 2002