Table 1.
Summarized details of reviewed rTMS articles.
| Study | Patient descriptions | Brain damage | Target symptoms | Stimulation location | Stimulation parameters | # Sessions | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonni et al. (49) | 20 y.o. male; severe TBI 2 years prior | Cortical lesion in right temporal cortex; small cortico–subcortical lesions in periventricular white matter | Hemispatial neglect | Left posterior parietal cortex | 50 Hz cTBS at 80% active MT | 20 (2/day) | Marked cognitive improvement in BIT |
| Cavinato et al. (50) | 31 y.o. male; severe TBI 8 months prior | Diffuse hematoma in corpus callosum; mass effect over fourth ventricle | Altered consciousness | Left DLPFC | 20 Hz at 90% MT | 4 prior to seizure | Seizure |
| Cosentino et al. (20) | 63 y.o. male; TBI of unspecified severity 10 months prior | Structural lesion of right temporal lobe | Musical hallucination | Right temporal area | 1 Hz at 90% MT using a focal coil | 10 | Disappearance following Tx, reappearance in reduced state 4 months post-Tx |
| Fitzgerald et al. (51) | 41 y.o. female; mild TBI 14 years prior | None | Depression | DLPFC | Active sequential stimulation at 110% MT: low: 1 Hz; high: 10 Hz | 20 | Response (50% MADRS reduction) |
| George et al. (52) | n = 41 [n = 21 with mTBI (11 sham, 13 active rTMS)] | Not specified | Suicidal ideation | Left prefrontal cortex | 10 Hz at 110% MT | 9 (3/day × 3 days) | Drop in SSI scores not significantly different between groups; trend toward more rapid response in active group |
| Giovannelli et al. (53) | n = 2; Both patients in VS following severe TBI; ages and time since injury not reported | Not specified | Altered consciousness | Left primary motor cortex | 20 Hz at 60% max output vs sham | 5 | No significant difference |
| Koski et al. (54) |
n = 15 [female = 6; age = 34.3 (10.8) years; PCS score = 37.5 (10.9)] n(completers) = 12 |
Not specified | Post-concussion symptoms | Left DLPFC | 10 Hz at 110% MT | 20 | n = 9: improvement of symptoms (≥5 reduction on PCS scale); n = 1: worsening of symptoms |
| Kreuzer et al. (19) | 53 y.o. male; severe TBI 5 years prior | Frontotemporal epi- and subdural hematoma | Tinnitus | Left primary auditory cortex | 1 Hz at 110% resting MT | 10 (repeated 5 times in 3 years) | Marked reduction in tinnitus symptoms |
| Manganotti et al. (55) | n = 3 | Patient 1: subdural hematoma; diffuse cortical lesions | Altered consciousness | Left/right primary motor cortex | 20 Hz at 100% MT | 1 | Patient 1: no EEG change, slight increase visual JFK CRS-R |
| Patient 1: 37 y.o. female in VS 34 months post-TBI | Patient 2: multifocal bifrontal lesions | Patient 2: no EEG change, slight increase visual JFK CRS-R | |||||
| Patient 2: 29 y.o. male with MCS 94 months post-TBI | Patient 3: pontomesencephalic lesion | Patient 3: no difference | |||||
| Patient 3: 38 y.o. male with MCS 36 months post-TBI | |||||||
| Pachalska et al. (56) | 20 y.o. male; severe TBI 3–4 years prior | Diffuse atrophy and enlarged ventricles in the RH | Impaired executive functioning | Right + left frontal/temporal regions | 1 Hz to LH and 5 Hz to RH | 20 | Large improvements in most tests of executive functioning and all categories of the FBI |
| Louise-Bender Pape (10) | 26 y.o. male in VS 287 days post-TBI | Hemorrhage in lateral and fourth ventricles and right temporal lobe; diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage | Altered consciousness | Right DLPFC | Paired 100 μs pulse trains with 100 ms ISI and 5 s ITI at 110% MT | 30 | Increased DOCS; clinical, behavioral improvement |
| Louise-Bender Pape (57) | 32 y.o. male in VS 9 years post-TBI | Multicystic encephalomalacia of RH and basal ganglia; hypoattenuation in the anterior frontal lobe; dilatation of 3rd and lateral ventricles | Altered consciousness | Left DLPFC | Paired 100 μs pulse trains with 100 ms ISI and 5 s ITI at 110% MT | 21 prior to seizure; 19 post-seizure | Electrographic seizure; improvement in following one-step commands and purposeful vocalizations prior to seizure |
y.o., years old; TBI, traumatic brain injury; Tx, treatment; cTBS, continuous theta burst stimulation; rTMS, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; tDCS, transcranial direct currant stimulation; DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; MT, motor threshold; BIT, Behavioral Inattention Test; MADRS, Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale; SSI, Beck Scale of Suicidal Ideation; PCS, post-concussion syndrome; EEG, electroencephalogram; JFK CRS-C, JFK Coma Recovery Scale-Revised; FBI, frontal behavioral inventory; DOCS, Disorders of Consciousness Scale; RH, right hemisphere; LH, left hemisphere.