Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42286136›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Ventrolateral prefrontal-amygdala repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) modulation of impulsivity in borderline personality disorder: a proof-of-concept study.

Reza Tadayonnejad, Rani Gera, Stephanie A Chu, Hope Hawkins, Emmily Hovhannisyan, Thuc Doan P Ngo, Juliana Corlier, Andrew F Leuchter

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

8 authors.

Reza TadayonnejadTMS Clinical and Research Service, Neuromodulation Division, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room # 57.464, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA. RTadayonNejad@mednet.ucla.edu.
Rani GeraDivision of the Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
Stephanie A ChuTMS Clinical and Research Service, Neuromodulation Division, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room # 57.464, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA.
Hope HawkinsTMS Clinical and Research Service, Neuromodulation Division, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room # 57.464, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA.
Emmily HovhannisyanTMS Clinical and Research Service, Neuromodulation Division, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room # 57.464, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA.
Thuc Doan P NgoTMS Clinical and Research Service, Neuromodulation Division, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room # 57.464, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA.
Juliana CorlierTMS Clinical and Research Service, Neuromodulation Division, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room # 57.464, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA.
Andrew F LeuchterTMS Clinical and Research Service, Neuromodulation Division, UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 760 Westwood Plaza, Room # 57.464, Los Angeles, CA, 90024, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Impulsivity and emotional dysregulation are core symptoms of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) for which therapeutic options are very limited. Prior neuroimaging studies suggest that BPD symptoms may be related to fronto-amygdala circuit dysfunction. This proof-of-concept study examined whether individualized ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC)-amygdala circuit modulation with Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) could alter impulsivity and emotional dysregulation in BPD. Eleven participants with BPD underwent resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rsfMRI) scans to identify individualized right and left VLPFC targets with the strongest functional connectivity to the ipsilateral amygdala. They then performed delayed discounting and emotional reactivity to social exclusion tasks to assess impulsivity and emotional reactivity, respectively, followed by a single session of intermittent Theta Burst Stimulation (iTBS) administered to left and/or right VLPFC targets. Tasks were repeated after stimulation to assess change in impulsivity and reactivity. Mixed-model linear regression analysis showed that right VLPFC, but not the left or bilateral VLPFC stimulation, was associated with a significant reduction of impulsivity (χ2(2) = 7.76, p = 0.02) but not emotional reactivity. No subjects experienced significant adverse events. These results suggest that the right VLPFC iTBS is a safe, tolerable, and promising procedure for modulating impulsivity in BPD.

Indexed as

AmygdalaBorderline Personality DisorderImpulsive BehaviorPrefrontal CortexTranscranial Magnetic StimulationAdultFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleProof of Concept StudyYoung AdultBorderline personality disorderImpulsivityTranscranial magnetic stimulationVentrolateral prefrontal-amygdala circuit

Identifiers

PMID42286136
PMCPMC13518863

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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.