ReviewBrain sciences2022
Efficacy of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation for Refractory Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Review in Brain sciences, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Optimizing non-invasive brain stimulation for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a systematic review of protocol heterogeneity, personalized targets, and adjunctive efficacy.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Immediate and long-term efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation (tCDS) in obsessive-compulsive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- A single-blind, randomized controlled trial of transcranial direct current stimulation in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder as early augmentation.CNS spectrums · 2025Trial
- Comparing Different Montages of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Treating Treatment-Resistant Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Randomized, Single-Blind Clinical Trial.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Trial
- Neurostimulation in the treatment of psychiatric disorders: Underlying mechanisms and critical analysis of circuit-based interventions.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Review
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation as a novel approach to effectively treat musical obsession (stuck song syndrome): a case series and a systematic review of case reports.Discover mental health · 2025Review
- Boosting Psychotherapy With Noninvasive Brain Stimulation: The Whys and Wherefores of Modulating Neural Plasticity to Promote Therapeutic Change.Neural plasticity · 2024Review
- Case report: accelerated cathodal HD-tDCS over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in hoarding disorder.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder, with 30−40% of OCD patients being unresponsive to adequate trials of anti-OCD drugs and cognitive behavior therapy. The aim of this paper is to investigate the efficacy of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) on treating refractory OCD. With PubMed, Embase, PsycInfo, and Cochrane Library used on 15 February 2022, 24 randomized controlled trials involving 663 patients were included. According to this analysis, NIBS including repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), theta-burst stimulation (TBS), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), had a moderate effect on the reduction of Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) scores (SMD = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.26−0.81; p < 0.01). In the subgroup analysis, rTMS seemed to produce a better therapeutic effect (SMD = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.38−1.08; p < 0.01). Moreover, excitatory (SMD = 1.13, 95% CI: 0.24−2.01; p = 0.01) and inhibitory (SMD = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.26−1.36; p < 0.01) stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) both alleviated OCD symptoms. In the secondary outcome of clinical response rates, NIBS treatment led to an increase in response rates (RR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.57−3.25; p < 0.01).
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.