Change in brain activation after transcranial pulsed electromagnetic fields in treatment-resistant depression.

Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci

Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Published: April 2024

Background: Preliminary evidence suggests antidepressant effects of transcranial pulsed electromagnetic fields (tPEMF). However, the precise mechanism of action in the brain is still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of tPEMF on brain activation in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) by studying two processes that might be of particular interest in relation to the symptoms of depression: emotional processing and reward processing.

Methods: Eligible participants (n = 50) with TRD in this sham-controlled double-blind multicenter trial [registered at the Dutch Trial Register ( http://www.trialregister.nl ), NTR3702] were randomly assigned to five weeks daily active or sham tPEMF. Pre- and post-treatment functional MR-scans were made during which participants performed a social-emotional task and a reward task.

Results: Participants in the active treatment group showed a stronger decrease in activation post-treatment compared to sham during reward-outcome processing in the left inferior frontal gyrus and in a cluster comprising the right lingual gyrus and the posterior part of the middle temporal gyrus. No effect of tPEMF was found on activation during the social-emotional task. Neurostimulation with tPEMF did also not affect behavioral performance for both tasks.

Conclusions: We found a decrease in reward-related activation as a result of tPEMF stimulation, while no effect of tPEMF on social-emotional processing was found. The treatment-related reduction in activation of regulatory regions may reflect normalization and may have implications for anhedonia. These findings suggest that there is an effect of tPEMF on brain activation of relevant circuits, albeit in the absence of a clinical antidepressant effect.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00406-024-01797-wDOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

brain activation
12
transcranial pulsed
8
pulsed electromagnetic
8
electromagnetic fields
8
treatment-resistant depression
8
tpemf
8
tpemf brain
8
social-emotional task
8
activation
7
change brain
4

Similar Publications

This study provides preliminary evidence for real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback (rt-fMRI NF) as a potential intervention approach for internet gaming disorder (IGD). In a preregistered, randomized, single-blind trial, young individuals with elevated IGD risk were trained to downregulate gaming addiction-related brain activity. We show that, after 2 sessions of neurofeedback training, participants successfully downregulated their brain responses to gaming cues, suggesting the therapeutic potential of rt-fMRI NF for IGD (Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Control Principles of Neural Dynamics Revealed by the Neurobiology of Timing.

Annu Rev Neurosci

January 2025

1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; email:

Cognition unfolds dynamically over flexible timescales. A major goal of the field is to understand the computational and neurobiological principles that enable this flexibility. Here, we argue that the neurobiology of timing provides a platform for tackling these questions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: There is an increasing body of literature associating edentulism with cognitive impairment. The aim of this systematic review was to summarize the available data, emphasizing the role of removable dental prostheses in preventing cognitive deterioration and promoting brain health in elderly individuals.

Aim: This systematic review investigates the relationship between the use of removable dental prostheses and physiological or adaptive changes at the cerebral level in partially and completely edentulous patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cancer immunotherapies rely on CD8 cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in recognition and eradication of tumor cells via antigens presented on major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules. However, we observe MHC-I deficiency in human and murine urologic tumors, posing daunting challenges for successful immunotherapy. We herein report an unprecedented nanosonosensitizer of one-dimensional bamboo-like multisegmented manganese dioxide@manganese-bismuth vanadate (BMMBV) to boost multiple branches of immune responses targeting MHC-I-deficient tumors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The inferior colliculus (IC) has traditionally been regarded as an important relay in the auditory pathway, primarily involved in relaying auditory information from the brainstem to the thalamus. However, this study uncovers the multifaceted role of the IC in bridging auditory processing, sensory prediction, and reward prediction. Through extracellular recordings in monkeys engaged in a sound duration-based deviation detection task, we observed a 'climbing effect' in neuronal firing rates, indicative of an enhanced response over sound sequences linked to sensory prediction rather than reward anticipation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!