Effects of right prefrontal theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation or transcranial direct current stimulation on apathy in patients with schizophrenia: A multicenter RCT.

Apathy is a core negative symptom associated with an unfavorable functional outcome. Noninvasive brain stimulation has shown promise in the treatment of schizophrenia but has not been tested specifically for apathy. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of intermittent theta-burst (iTBS) transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeted at the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in patients diagnosed with a psychotic disorder suffering from apathy.

Intrinsic mesocorticolimbic connectivity is negatively associated with social amotivation in people with schizophrenia.

Background: Social amotivation is a core element of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. However, it is still largely unknown which neural substrates underpin social amotivation in people with schizophrenia, though deficiencies in the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system have been proposed.

Methods: We examined the association between social amotivation and substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area-seeded intrinsic connectivity in 84 people with schizophrenia using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Neural basis of self-initiative in relation to apathy in a student sample.

Human behaviour can be externally driven, e.g. catching a falling glass, or self-initiated and goal-directed, e.

Apathy is related to reduced activation in cognitive control regions during set-shifting.

Apathy is a prominent and influential symptom in several neurological and psychiatric disorders, but it also occurs in the healthy population. It has considerable impact on daily life functioning, in clinical as well as healthy samples. Even though cognitive control is thought to be disrupted in people with apathy, the exact neural underpinnings of apathy remain unclear.