RTMS safe and effective for hallucination in schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation uses a non-invasive and relatively painless tool to stimulate the human brain in vivo using very strong, pulsed magnetic fields. It is also used to explore and elucidate neocortical functions and treat neuropsychiatric disorders. Yingli Zhang and colleagues from Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University screened 17 randomized controlled trials from 193 studies addressing repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, involving 398 patients, and assessed the efficacy and tolerability of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment of auditory hallucination of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Results, published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 8, No. 28, 2013), demonstrate that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation is a safe and effective treatment for auditory hallucination in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Active repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation has equivocal outcome in cognitive function and commonly causes headache and facial muscle twitching.