Effectiveness of the prefrontal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on cognitive profiles in depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease: A systematic review

Takashi Iimori, Shinichiro Nakajima, Takahiro Miyazaki, Ryosuke Tarumi, Kamiyu Ogyu, Masataka Wada, Sakiko Tsugawa, Fumi Masuda, Zafiris J. Daskalakis, Daniel M. Blumberger, Masaru Mimura, Yoshihiro Noda

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

55 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an effective clinical intervention for various neuropsychiatric diseases. However, it is still unclear whether rTMS has an effect on cognitive functioning. In this review, we aimed to systematically evaluate the cognitive effects of rTMS in depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease. We searched PubMed (1996–2018) under the set terms to review randomized controlled trials (RCT) to examine the effectiveness of rTMS administered to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and evaluated cognitive functions in patients with depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease. Two authors reviewed each article and came to consensus on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All eligible studies were reviewed, duplicates were removed, and data were extracted individually. The search identified 579 articles, 31 of which met inclusion and exclusion criteria. Among them, 15 were conducted in patients with depression, 11 in patients with schizophrenia, and 5 in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, 6 studies demonstrated a significant improvement of executive function across these diseases. Further, no evidence for cognitive adverse effects was found in these included rTMS studies. Although the heterogeneity between studies in terms of cognitive measures applied, stimulation parameters, and participants limits the ability to generalize conclusions, this review demonstrated that prefrontal rTMS could exert pro-cognitive effects on executive function and attention in some patients with depression but inconsistent cognitive impacts in any of the examined domains especially in patients with schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. The results warrant further rTMS studies that include systematic assessment of cognition across various neuropsychiatric diseases.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)31-40
Number of pages10
JournalProgress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
Volume88
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019 Jan 10

Keywords

  • Alzheimer's disease
  • Cognition
  • Depression
  • Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
  • Schizophrenia
  • rTMS

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology
  • Biological Psychiatry

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