Table 2A.
Overview of study parameters of prefrontal cortex rTMS studies investigating motor cortex excitability.
| Authors | Sample (drop-offs excluded) | Stimulation sessions | Stimulation site | Treatment | Daily pulses | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furukawa et al., 2010 | 10 HC 7 HC |
1 | Bilateral DLPFC sham |
0.2 Hz, 120% RMT | 100 100 |
↑ CSP in the verum condition ↔ RMT and MEP |
| Rollnik et al., 2000 | 18 HC | 1 | Left DLPFC Left OC (sham) |
5 Hz, 90% RMT 5 Hz, 90 % RMT |
60 60 |
↓ MEP in the verum group |
| Fierro et al., 2010 | 7 HC | 1 | Left DLPFC | 5 Hz, 90% RMT | 1800 | ↑ MEP, SICI after pain-induced decrease ↔ ICF |
| Grunhaus et al., 2003 | 19 MD 13 HC |
1 | Left DLPFC | 10 Hz, 90 % RMT | 1200 | ↑ MEP in both groups |
| Dolberg et al., 2002 | 46 MD 13 HC |
20 20 |
Left DLPFC Left DLPFC |
10 Hz, 90% RMT 10 Hz, 90% RMT |
1200 1200 |
↔ RMT |
| Pallanti et al., 2012 | 28 MD | 15 | Right DLPFC | 1 Hz, 110% RMT | 420 | ↓ left RMT in responders ↔ right RMT |
| Nahas et al., 2003 | 11 BD 12 BD |
10 10 |
Left DLPFC | 5 Hz, 110% RMT sham |
1600 1600 | ↔ RMT |
| Chistyakov et al., 2005 | 11 MD 6 MD 12 MD 6 MD 15 MD |
10 | Left DLPFC Right DLPFC Left DLPFC Right DLPFC sham |
3 Hz, 110% RMT 3 Hz, 110% RMT 10 Hz, 100% RMT 10 Hz, 100% RMT Clomipramine |
450 450 500 500 |
↑ RMT in the 10 Hz group ↑ MEP and ↓ CSP in responders in both left groups |
| Zarkowski et al., 2009 | 50 MD | 15 | Left DLPFC | 10 Hz, 120% RMT sham |
3000 3000 |
↔ RMT in both conditions; identification of sub-groups with low and high variability of RMT |
| Pretalli et al., 2012 | 75 UD+BD | 10 | Left DLPFC | 10 Hz, 95% RMT | 1200 | ↔ RMT identification of sub-groups with ↑, ↔, ↓ RMT independent from response |
| Croarkin et al., 2012 | 7 MD | 25 | Left DLPFC | 10 Hz, 120% RMT | 3000 | ↓ RMT |
| Spampinato et al., 2013 | 12 MD 10 MD |
20 | Left DLPFC sham |
10 Hz, 120% RMT | 3000 | ↔ RMT, SICI, ICF, CSP |
| Shajahan et al., 2002 | 5 MD 5 MD 5 MD |
10 | Left DLPFC | 5 Hz, 80% RMT 10 Hz, 80% RMT 20 Hz, 80% RMT |
500 | ↑ RMT during first week, followed by ↓ for all study arms |
| Triggs et al., 1999 | 9 MD | 10 | Left DLPFC | 20 Hz, 80% RMT | 2000 | ↓ RMT |
| Bajbouj et al., 2005 | 30 MD | 10 | Left DLPFC | 20 Hz, 100% RMT | 2000 | ↑ SICI, CSP in responders ↔ RMT, ICF |
| Mantovani et al., 2007 | 6 MD+PAD |
10 | Right DLPFC | 1 Hz, 100% RMT | 1200 | ↑ Right RMT |
| Ahmed et al., 2012 | 15 AD 15 AD 15 AD |
5 5 5 |
Bilateral DLPFC Bilateral DLPFC sham |
20 Hz, 90% RMT 1 Hz, 100% RMT |
2000 2000 2000 |
↔ RMT |
Studies were listed according to specific samples and within the groups to stimulation frequency.
BD, bipolar disorder; HC, healthy controls; MD, major depression; PAD, panic disorder; UD, unipolar disorder; DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; OC, occipital cortex; ↑, increases; ↔, no changes; ↓, decreases; CSP, cortical silent period; ICF, intracortical facilitation; MEP, motor evoked potential; RMT, resting motor threshold; SICI, short-interval intracortical inhibition; please note that increases in SICI means increases in inhibition and concomitantly a numeric decrease in the raw data.