Skip to main content

BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurorehabilitation
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1412304
This article is part of the Research Topic Rehabilitation Interventions for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury View all articles

EFFICACY OF A NOVEL TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION TREATMENT TO REDUCE NEUROPSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMATOLOGY AFTER TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

Provisionally accepted
Gianna C. Riccitelli Gianna C. Riccitelli 1,2*Riccardo Borgonovo Riccardo Borgonovo 1,2Mariasole Villa Mariasole Villa 1Emanuele Pravatà Emanuele Pravatà 1,2Alain Kaelin-Lang Alain Kaelin-Lang 1,2,3
  • 1 Other, Lugano, Switzerland
  • 2 University of Italian Switzerland, Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland
  • 3 Inselspital University Hospital Bern, Bern, Bern, Switzerland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Neuropsychiatric disorders are highly disabling in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients and often psychopharmacological therapy is not enough to limit its detrimental effects. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment is growing in the field of neurology and psychiatry, with potential in treating psychiatric disorders. Objective: This study explores the efficacy of a novel, dual-site sequential rTMS protocol designed to address neuropsychiatric symptoms in a TBI patient refractory to conventional medication. Methods: A 34-year-old woman with severe head trauma and complex psychopathology underwent 20 daily sessions of focal-coil inhibitory (1Hz) and excitatory (10Hz) rTMS on right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex guided by a Neuronavigation system. Psychiatric and neurocognitive assessment were performed at baseline, two, four, and eight weeks from the beginning of rTMS treatment. Results: After 2 weeks of treatment, the patient showed decreased impulsivity and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, improved attention, and faster processing speed. After 4 weeks, impulsivity further declined without other significant changes. A persistent positive effect, including enhanced positive emotions, was evident after 8 weeks. Discussion: These findings suggest that guided, alternating neurostimulation of the DLPFC may modulate the activity within cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits providing a promising alternative for managing neuropsychiatric symptoms in TBI patients resistant to traditional treatments.

    Keywords: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Traumatic Brain Injury, Emotions, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Neuropsychiatry, executive control

    Received: 04 Apr 2024; Accepted: 23 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Riccitelli, Borgonovo, Villa, Pravatà and Kaelin-Lang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Gianna C. Riccitelli, Other, Lugano, Switzerland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.