Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32467579›Full record

SynthesisTranslational psychiatry2020

Non-invasive brain stimulation for posttraumatic stress disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Rebecca L D Kan, Bella B B Zhang, Jack J Q Zhang, Georg S Kranz

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Translational psychiatry, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
4.9field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

53 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 104 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Guideline
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  10. Trial
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  12. Review
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  15. Review
  16. The Therapeutic Effect of High-definition 1-Hz Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation in PTSD: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Rebecca L D Kan *Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, SAR, China.
Bella B B Zhang *Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, SAR, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2580-3371
Jack J Q ZhangDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, SAR, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4656-1909
Georg S KranzDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, SAR, China. Georg.kranz@polyu.edu.hk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3892-1804
Hong Kong Polytechnic University · HK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Approximately 7-9% of people develop posttraumatic stress disorder in their lifetime, but standard pharmacological treatment or psychotherapy shows a considerable individual variation in their effectiveness. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) hold promise for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. The objective of this meta-analysis was to summarize the existing evidence on the therapeutic effects of these brain stimulation treatments on posttraumatic core symptoms. We systematically retrieved articles published between 1st January 2000 and 1st January 2020 comparing the effects of active with sham stimulation or no intervention in posttraumatic patients from eight databases. Random-effects model was used for meta-analysis. Meta-regression and subgroup meta-analysis was performed to investigate the influence of stimulation dose and different stimulation protocols, respectively. 20 studies were included in this review, where of 11 randomized controlled trials were subjected to quantitative analysis. Active stimulation demonstrated significant reductions of core posttraumatic symptoms with a large effect size (Hedge's g = -0.975). Subgroup analysis showed that both excitatory and inhibitory rTMS of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex led to symptom reductions with a large (Hedges' g = -1.161, 95% CI, -1.823 to -0.499; p = 0.015) and medium effect size (Hedges' g = -0.680, 95% CI: -0.139 to -0.322; p ≤ 0.001) respectively. Results further indicated significant durability of symptom-reducing effects of treatments during a two to four weeks period post stimulation (Hedges' g = -0.909, 95% CI: -1.611 to -0.207; p = 0.011). rTMS of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex appears to have a positive effect in reducing core symptoms in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Indexed as

Stress Disorders, Post-TraumaticTranscranial Direct Current StimulationHumansPrefrontal CortexTranscranial Magnetic Stimulation

Identifiers

PMID32467579
PMCPMC7256039
OpenAlexW3032680645

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.