Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39290299›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in psychiatry2024

Unilateral vs. bilateral DLPFC rTMS: comparative effects on depression, visual-spatial memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility in major depressive disorder.

Fatemeh Asgharian Asl, Sajjad Abbaszade, Horeyeh Derakhshani, Ladan Vaghef, Amirreza Asgharian Asl

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In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in psychiatry, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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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

5 authors.

Fatemeh Asgharian AslDepartment of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.
Sajjad AbbaszadeDepartment of Cognitive Science, Faculty of Education & Psychology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Horeyeh DerakhshaniFaculty of Psychology and Education, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
Ladan VaghefDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Education & Psychology, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz, Iran.
Amirreza Asgharian AslDepartment of Computer Engineering, Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Exciting left DLPFC activity with high frequency and inhibiting right DLPFC with low frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has shown antidepressant effects in major depressive disorder (MDD) and executive functions. However, few studies have directly compared unilateral and bilateral protocols. Methods: Forty-seven individuals with treatment-resistant MDD underwent 10 sessions of rTMS over left DLPFC (20 Hz), bilateral DLPFC (left 20 Hz, right 1 Hz), or sham stimulation. Outcomes were depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II), visual-spatial memory (Corsi Block Test), response inhibition (Go/No-Go task), and cognitive flexibility (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) assessed before and after treatment. Results: Both unilateral and bilateral rTMS significantly reduced depression levels versus sham controls based on BDI-II scores. While bilateral stimulation did not improve Corsi Test performance, unilateral protocol enhanced visual-spatial memory. On the Go/No-Go task, accuracy was higher in both active stimulation groups compared to sham, with no response time differences. Neither unilateral nor bilateral rTMS had significant effects on cognitive flexibility per the WCST. Conclusions: Despite comparable antidepressant effects, unilateral stimulation had some cognitive advantages over bilateral rTMS, potentially due to greater left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex excitation. Further research on parameter optimization is warranted.

Indexed as

cognitioncognitive flexibilitydepressiondorsolateral prefrontal cortexinhibitionmajor depressive disordermemorytranscranial magnetic stimulation

Identifiers

PMID39290299
PMCPMC11405187

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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.