Impaired insight in schizophrenia is associated with higher frontoparietal cerebral blood flow: an arterial spin labeling study.

Impaired insight into illness occurs in up to 98% of patients with schizophrenia, depending on the stage of illness, and leads to negative clinical outcomes. Previous neuroimaging studies suggest that impaired insight in patients with schizophrenia may be related to structural and functional anomalies in frontoparietal brain regions. To date, limited studies have investigated the association between regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) and impaired insight in schizophrenia.

Rectangular Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Monophasic vs Biphasic Stimulation for Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial.

Objectives: Biphasic sinusoidal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation treatment that has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Recent advances suggest that standard rTMS may be improved by altering the pulse shape; however, there is a paucity of research investigating pulse shape, owing primarily to the technologic limitations of currently available devices. This pilot study examined the feasibility, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of biphasic and monophasic rectangular rTMS for TRD.

Effect of DLPFC rTMS on anhedonia and alpha asymmetry in depressed patients.

Anhedonia, a core symptom of depression, has been defined as the loss of pleasure or lack of reactivity to pleasurable stimuli. Considering the relevance of alpha asymmetry to MDD and anhedonia, we explored the effect of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) stimulation on frontal and posterior EEG alpha asymmetry (FAA and PAA, respectively), in this exploratory investigation. 61 participants randomly received sham (n = 11), bilateral (BS; n = 25), or unilateral stimulation (US; n = 25) of the DLPFC.

Identifying causal neural oscillations underlying working memory.

Electroencephalography is instrumental in understanding neurophysiological mechanisms underlying working memory. While numerous studies have associated electroencephalography features to working memory, understanding causal relationships leads to better characterization of the neurophysiological mechanisms that are directly linked to working memory. Personalized causal modeling is a tool to discover these direct links between brain features and working memory performance.

Effectiveness of sequential bilateral repetitive transcranial stimulation versus bilateral theta burst stimulation for patients with treatment-resistant depression (BEAT-D): A randomized non-inferiority clinical trial.

Background: Bilateral repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (BL-rTMS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is effective for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Owing to a shorter treatment time, bilateral theta burst stimulation (BL-TBS) can be more efficient protocol. The non-inferiority of BL-TBS to BL-rTMS was established in late-life TRD; however, this has not been determined in adults of other age groups.

Magnetic Seizure Therapy in Refractory Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: La thérapie par convulsions magnétiques pour la prise en charge des troubles psychiatriques réfractaires : revue systématique et méta-analyse.

Objective: To qualitatively and quantitatively synthesize the literature on the efficacy and safety of magnetic seizure therapy (MST) in psychiatric disorders.

Methods: A literature search was conducted of the OVID Medline, OVID EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science and Cochrane databases from inception to 14 January 2024, using subject headings and key words for "magnetic seizure therapy." Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), post-hoc analyses of RCTs, open-label trials, or case series investigating MST in adults with a verified psychiatric diagnosis and reporting on two possible primary outcomes (1) psychiatric symptom reduction (as measured by validated rating scale) or (2) neurocognitive outcomes (as measured by standardized testing), were included.

Non-invasive brain stimulation in research and therapy.

Since the introduction of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) almost four decades ago, non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques have emerged as promising tools to study brain-behaviour relationships in healthy and impaired states with unprecedented precision. Various NIBS techniques, including TMS, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and emerging methods such as transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) are employed in both research and clinical settings. TMS has gained regulatory approval for treating conditions like major depressive disorder and migraine, while tDCS is showing efficacy in enhancing cognitive functions in various populations.

Assessing plasticity in the primary sensory cortex and its relation with atypical tactile reactivity in autism: A TMS-EEG protocol.

Background: Atypical sensory reactivity is a cardinal presentation in autism. Within the tactile domain, atypical tactile reactivity (TR) is common, it emerges early, persists into adulthood, and impedes social interaction and daily functioning. Hence, atypical TR is a key target for biological intervention to improve outcomes.

Optimizing the identification of long-interval intracortical inhibition from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Objective: This study aimed to optimally evaluate the effect of the long-interval intracortical inhibition (LICI) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) through transcranial magnetic stimulation combined with electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) by eliminating the volume conductance with signal source estimation and using a realistic sham coil as a control.

Methods: We compared the LICI effects from the DLPFC between the active and sham stimulation conditions in 27 healthy participants. Evoked responses between the two conditions were evaluated at the sensor and source levels.

Emergency Department Visits Involving Hallucinogen Use and Risk of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder.

Importance: Interest in and use of hallucinogens has been increasing rapidly. While a frequently raised concern is that hallucinogens may be associated with an increased risk of psychosis, there are limited data on this association.

Objectives: To examine whether individuals with an emergency department (ED) visit involving hallucinogen use have an increased risk of developing a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD).

Clinical Characteristics of Inpatients with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder Treated with Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Population-Level Cross-Sectional Study: Titre: Caractéristiques cliniques des patients hospitalisés présentant un trouble du spectre de la schizophrénie et traités par électrochocs : Une étude de population transversale.

Objective: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an evidence-based treatment for schizophrenia when anti-psychotic medications do not sufficiently control symptoms of psychosis or rapid response is required. Little is known about how it is used in routine clinical practice. The aim of this study was to identify the association of demographic and clinical characteristics with administration of ECT for schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD).

Randomised controlled trial comparing different intersession intervals of intermittent theta burst delivered to the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex.

Background: Intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) is a form of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) that can be administered in a fraction of the time of standard rTMS. Applying multiple daily iTBS sessions (ie, accelerated iTBS) may enable patients to achieve remission more rapidly. However, questions remain regarding the optimal time interval between treatment sessions.

Extended course accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation as a substitute for depressed patients needing electroconvulsive therapy.

In response to restrictions on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) access during COVID-19, we designed a trial to assess the clinical outcomes service impacts, employing an extended course of accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (aiTBS), in patients with moderate to severe depression in need of ECT. This open label clinical trial was comprised of 3 phases: (i) an acute phase, where iTBS treatments were administered 8 times daily, for up to 10 days; (ii) a tapering phase of 2 treatment days per week for 2 weeks, followed by 1 treatment day per week for 2 weeks; and (iii) a symptom-based relapse prevention phase, whereby treatments were scheduled based on symptom re-emergence, for up to 6 months. Of the 155 patients who completed the acute phase of the study, the remission rate was 16.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation for the rehabilitation of patients with addiction: current status and future prospects.

Introduction: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are severe conditions that remain extremely challenging to treat in clinical practice. With high rates of non-response to current treatment options and several SUDs with no approved interventions, novel therapies are needed. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can non-invasively modulate the neurocircuitry of brain-based disorders, and investigation into its therapeutic potential for SUDs is growing rapidly.

Brain state-dependent repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for motor stroke rehabilitation: a proof of concept randomized controlled trial.

Background: In healthy subjects, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeting the primary motor cortex (M1) demonstrated plasticity effects contingent on electroencephalography (EEG)-derived excitability states, defined by the phase of the ongoing sensorimotor μ-oscillation. The therapeutic potential of brain state-dependent rTMS in the rehabilitation of upper limb motor impairment post-stroke remains unexplored.

Objective: Proof-of-concept trial to assess the efficacy of rTMS, synchronized to the sensorimotor μ-oscillation, in improving motor impairment and reducing upper-limb spasticity in stroke patients.

Task-based functional neural correlates of social cognition across autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Background: Autism and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) both feature atypical social cognition. Despite evidence for comparable group-level performance in lower-level emotion processing and higher-level mentalizing, limited research has examined the neural basis of social cognition across these conditions. Our goal was to compare the neural correlates of social cognition in autism, SSDs, and typically developing controls (TDCs).

Frontostriatal salience network expansion in individuals in depression.

Decades of neuroimaging studies have shown modest differences in brain structure and connectivity in depression, hindering mechanistic insights or the identification of risk factors for disease onset. Furthermore, whereas depression is episodic, few longitudinal neuroimaging studies exist, limiting understanding of mechanisms that drive mood-state transitions. The emerging field of precision functional mapping has used densely sampled longitudinal neuroimaging data to show behaviourally meaningful differences in brain network topography and connectivity between and in healthy individuals, but this approach has not been applied in depression.

Factors associated with presentation to the emergency department during an intensive post-discharge intervention in patients with substance use disorders.

Background: Early identification of patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) with a higher risk of emergency department (ED) presentations after being discharged can be useful. We performed a chart review of patients from the Intensive Recovery Discharge Team (IRDT) program, which provides two weeks of outpatient support for patients with SUDs discharged from a mental health hospital.

Method: Demographic, service utilization, and clinical data from 716 patients enrolled in IRDT from February 2021-February 2023 were extracted from electronic health records.

Influence of Large-Scale Brain State Dynamics on the Evoked Response to Brain Stimulation.

Understanding how spontaneous brain activity influences the response to neurostimulation is crucial for the development of neurotherapeutics and brain-computer interfaces. Localized brain activity is suggested to influence the response to neurostimulation, but whether fast-fluctuating (i.e.

Cognitive Profiles in Treatment-Resistant Late-Life Depression and Their Impact on Treatment Outcomes.

Background: Late-life depression (LLD) is associated with cognitive impairment, but substantial heterogeneity exists among patients. Data on the extent of cognitive impairments are inconclusive, particularly in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). We investigated the cognitive profiles of patients with treatment-resistant versus nonresistant LLD and aimed to identify distinct cognitive subgroups.