SOURCE: Transl Psychiatry Psychiatry. 10(1):75, 2020 02 24.
AUTHORS: Singh A; Erwin-Grabner T; Sutcliffe G; Paulus W; Dechent P; Antal A; Goya-Maldonado R Institution Singh, Aditya. Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience and Imaging in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University Medical Center Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany. Erwin-Grabner, Tracy. Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience and Imaging in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University Medical Center Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany. Sutcliffe, Grant. Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience and Imaging in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University Medical Center Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany. Paulus, Walter. Department of Clinical Neurophysiology of the University Medical Center Gottingenn, Gottingen, Germany. Dechent, Peter. Core facility ‘MR-Research in Neurology and Psychiatry’, Department of Cognitive Neurology of the University Medical Center Gottingenn, Gottingen, Germany. Antal, Andrea. Department of Clinical Neurophysiology of the University Medical Center Gottingenn, Gottingen, Germany. Goya-Maldonado, Roberto. Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience and Imaging in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the University Medical Center Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany. roberto.goya@med.uni-goettingen.de.
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms by which intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) protocols exert changes in the default-mode network (DMN) is paramount to develop therapeutically more effective approaches in the future. While a full session (3000 pulses) of 10 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) reduces the functional connectivity (FC) of the DMN and the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, the current understanding of the effects of a single session of iTBS on the DMN in healthy subjects is limited. Here, we use a previously validated target selection approach for an unprecedented investigation into the effects of a single session (1800 pulses) of iTBS over the DMN in healthy controls. Twenty-six healthy subjects participated in a double-blind, crossover, sham-controlled study. After iTBS to the personalized left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) targets, we investigated the time lapse of effects in the DMN and its relationship to the harm avoidance (HA) personality trait measure (Temperament and Character Inventory/TCI). Approximately 25-30 min after stimulation, we observed reduced FC between the DMN and the rostral and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). About 45 min after stimulation the FC of rostral and dACC strongly decreased further, as did the FC of right anterior insula (AI) with the DMN. Also, we report a positive correlation between the FC decrease in the rostral ACC and the HA domain of TCI, indicating that the HA scores can potentially predict iTBS response. Overall, our results show the time lapse by which iTBS at left-DLPFC targets reduces the FC between DMN and the dACC and right AI, regions typically described as nodes of the salience network. Publication Type Journal Article. Randomized Controlled Trial. Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov’t.
