TMS Poster OnlyThe influence of High Frequency rTMS session on the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal system
Section snippets
Objective:
Previous studies in depressed patients, as well as in healthy volunteers, have reported a possible impact of High Frequency repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (HF-rTMS) on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. We wanted to evaluate the emotional and neurobiological impact of one session of HF-rTMS applied on the left DLPFC in a sample of unipolar treatment resistant depressed patients of the melancholic subtype.
Method:
Two sham-controlled, ‘single’ blind, crossover studies were conducted. HF-rTMS on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) was performed in 28 young healthy female volunteers and in 20 unipolar treatment resistant depressed patients of the melancholic subtype. In each high-frequency (10 Hz) stimulation session, at stimulation intensity of 110 % of the subject's MT, subjects received 40 trains of 3,9 s duration, separated by an intertrain interval of 26.1 s. Each session lasted 20 minutes
Result:
Although we controlled for several methodological problems in rTMS research, the hypothesis that a single session of HF-rTMS on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) can influence the HPA-axis in healthy female volunteers was not supported. By using exactly the same stimulation parameters, we found in a sample of unipolar melancholic treatment resistant depressed patients, that salivary cortisol concentrations decreased significantly after one active HF-rTMS session applied to the
Conclusion:
Although one session of HF-rTMS on the left DLPFC did not influence mood subjectively and salivary cortisol levels in female volunteers, we found support for the hypothesis that in melancholic unipolar depressed patients a single session has a significant impact on the HPA–axis, as measured by salivary cortisol. Our results may provide more insight into the underlying working mechanisms of HF-rTMS in unipolar melancholic depression, and could add further information about endocrinological