TMS IN THE NEWS
Image-Guided Psychiatry (using advanced imaging techniques such as fMRI) was the subject of a recent paper by Saddiqi, Shan et al. entitled “Hitting the Target of Image-Guided Psychiatryâ€, https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.20230015; American Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 180, Issue 3, March 01, 2023, pp.185-187. The authors reported that “The results appear encouraging for proponents of image-guided psychiatry….Thus, the effect was truly dependent upon the specific parameter of the TMS target in each individual and not just a feature of the patient’s brain. This implies that individualized image-guided targeting would have improved clinical outcomes if it had been prospectively implemented in the original trial.â€
The use of functional connectivity mapping for TMS targeting in depression patients was the subject of a recent paper by Elbau, Immanuel, et al. entitled “Functional Connectivity Mapping for rTMS Target Selection in Depressionâ€, https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.20220306; American Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 180, Issue 3, March 01,2023, pp. 230-240. The authors concluded that “functional connectivity between the sgACC and the stimulated cortex was correlated with individual differences in treatment outcomes†but was weaker than observed in other studies. They continued “…these data also provide strong evidence for a true-albeit small- effect and highlight opportunities for incorporating additional functional connectivity measures…†in rTMS models.
