Einfluss einer Serie hochfrequenter repetitiver Transkranieller Magnetstimulation auf kognitive Parameter bei gesunden männlichen Probanden
Year: 2013
Type: dissertation
Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial
Abstract: 1) Background and Aims: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive tool to stimulate cortical neurons. It is applied to therapy of different psychiatric diseases, particularly depressive disorders. There are studies showing an enhancement of cognitive parameters like attention or executive functions after the application of high-frequency rTMS. In the present sham-controlled study healthy male volunteers were stimulated with serial high-frequency rTMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The influence on cognitive performance was investigated with established neuro-psychological assessment. 2) Methods: 44 healthy male volunteers were divided into two randomized groups and either were stimulated with high-frequency (25 Hz) rTMS in nine sessions of stimulation each with 750 pulses, or treated with an identical sham process, respectively. Cognitive parameters were measured with the subtests Alertness, Go/Nogo, Divided attention, Flexibility and Working memory of the Test of Attentional Performance (TAP) as well as with the German version of the word fluency test (Regensburger Wortflüssigkeitstest = RWT) and the Ruff Figural Fluency test (RFFT). 3) Results: In a first step of data analysis the average reaction times in the subtests of the TAP, the number of right words in the word fluency test and the number of correct unique copies in the RFFT were evaluated. Differences assumed between real- and sham-group were analysed with General Linear Models. Changes over time were evaluated with either Student’s t-test or Mann-Whitney-U-test. There was no significant parameter above the defined significance level of 0.5 %. Hence, all data collected (mainly errors in the conducted tests) were analysed in an analogous explorative approach. Also in this second step of data analysis no significant results between real- and sham-group were found. 4) Conclusions: The obvious conclusion is that the application of a series of high-frequency rTMS has no effect on cognitive performance. But this may be not straight forward because of several limitations of this study. Further studies could provide different results varying stimulation parameters or recruiting a different population e.g. women, elderly people or patients suffering from a mild cognitive impairment.
Author: Friedrich, Kerstin
Language: German
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7028345048