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University of British Columbia, May 17
Researchers have shown for the first time when a person receives a What happens to the brain during depression treatment called repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS). The findings were recently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Research published in American Journal of Psychiatry on May 18, 2022 in
rTMS is a treatment for depression, often used when other methods, such as medication, are not working for the patient. It is estimated that about 40% of people with major depressive disorder do not respond to antidepressants.
During rTMS treatment, a device containing an electromagnetic coil is placed on the patient’s scalp. The device then painlessly sends magnetic pulses that stimulate nerve cells in an area of the brain involved in emotional control — called the dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex.
Although proven to be effective, the mechanism of how rTMS affects the brain is not well understood.
Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez conducts a study of a study participant
> “When we started this study, we asked a simple question: What happens to the brain when you’re treated with rTMS?” said Dr. Fidel Vila-Rodriguez, University of British Columbia ( Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia, UBC) and researcher at the Djavad Mowafaghian Center for Brain Health (DMCBH).
Dr.Fidel Vila-Rodriguez
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to answer this question Dr. Rodriguez and his team gave patients a round of rTMS while they were in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. Because magnetic resonance imaging measures brain activity, researchers were able to see what’s happening in the brain in real time.
By stimulating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, several other parts of the brain districtDomains are also activated. These other areas are involved in a variety of functions—from managing emotional responses to memory and motor control.
These participants then received 4 weeks of rTMS treatment, and the team assessed whether these activated regions were associated with a reduction in depressive symptoms in the patients after the treatment ended .
Dr. Vila-Rodriguez said, “We found that brain regions activated during synchronized rTMS-fMRI were significantly associated with better outcomes.”
With these new maps of how rTMS stimulates different areas of the brain, Dr. Vila-Rodriguez hopes Can be used to determine how a patient responds to rTMS therapy.
He said: “By demonstrating this principle and identifying the brain regions activated by rTMS, we can now try to understand whether this pattern is Can be used as a biomarker.”
Dr. Vila-Rodriguez is now exploring how transcranial magnetic stimulation can be used to treat a range of neuropsychiatric disorders. He received a grant from the Djavad Mowafaghian Brain Health Alzheimer’s Disease Research Competition to study rTMS as a method to enhance memory in patients with early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. He has also received a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to research whether rTMS brain activation patterns can be detected by changes in heart rate.
University of British Columbia in Canada in <1908 >
References
Source: University of British Columbia
New research maps how the brain changes during depression treatment
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Ruiyang Ge, Afifa Humaira, Elizabeth Gregory, Golnoush Alamian, Erin L. MacMillan, Laura Barlow, Rebecca Todd, Sean Nestor, Sophia Frangou, Fidel Vila-Rodriguez. Predictive Value of Acute Neuroplastic Response to rTMS in Treatment Outcome in Depression: A Concurrent TMS-fMRI Trial. American Journal of Psychiatry, 2022; DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.21050541
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