Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42534771›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in human neuroscience2026

Accelerated prefrontal intermittent theta-burst stimulation in Huntington's disease: a within-subject study of domain-specific behavioral and event-related potential changes.

Marianna Delussi, Emmanuella Ladisa, Elena Ammendola, Giulia Paparella, Chiara Abbatantuono, Giusy Tancredi, Giulia Paparella, Elvira Brattico, Marina de Tommaso

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

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Marianna DelussiDepartment of Education, Psychology, Communication (For.Psi.Com.), University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), Bari, Italy.
Emmanuella LadisaNeurophysiopathology Unit, Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), Bari, Italy.
Elena AmmendolaNeurophysiopathology Unit, Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), Bari, Italy.
Giulia PaparellaNeurophysiopathology Unit, Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), Bari, Italy.
Chiara AbbatantuonoNeurophysiopathology Unit, Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), Bari, Italy.
Giusy TancrediNeurophysiopathology Unit, Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), Bari, Italy.
Giulia PaparellaNeurophysiopathology Unit, Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), Bari, Italy.
Elvira BratticoDepartment of Education, Psychology, Communication (For.Psi.Com.), University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), Bari, Italy.
Marina de TommasoNeurophysiopathology Unit, Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari Aldo Moro (IT), Bari, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Huntington's disease is a rare neurodegenerative movement disorder characterized by early disruption of frontostriatal systems, affecting motor, cognitive, and affective domains. Non-invasive brain stimulation targeting prefrontal networks may offer a means to modulate these distributed systems, although controlled evidence in Huntington's disease remains limited, particularly for accelerated stimulation protocols. Objective: To investigate whether accelerated intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) applied to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is associated with behavioral, motor and electrophysiological changes reflecting modulation of prefrontal network function in early-stage Huntington's disease. Methods: Ten patients with genetically confirmed Huntington's disease participated in a within-subject, fixed-order longitudinal study, which included a sham exposure phase followed by active stimulation. Assessments were conducted at baseline (T0), after sham stimulation (T1), after active accelerated iTBS (T2), and at 60-day follow-up (T3). Clinical scales for motor impairment, behavioral measures targeting executive, affective, and social-cognitive domains were combined with event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded during cognitive and emotional Stroop tasks. The fixed-order design was chosen to minimize potential carry-over effects associated with accelerated stimulation protocols. Results: No significant behavioral or electrophysiological changes were observed during the sham exposure phase. In contrast, active iTBS was associated with domain-specific behavioral changes, particularly in affective, executive, and social-cognitive domains, accompanied by changes in event-related potential activity, particularly within delayed N200-related responses during emotional interference. Effects were domain-specific and were not associated with normalization of electrophysiological latency profiles. Motor scales were not modified by either sham or real stimulation. Conclusion: Accelerated prefrontal iTBS was associated with behavioral and electrophysiological changes following active stimulation of prefrontal network in Huntington's disease. These findings support the feasibility of targeting distributed non-motor circuits in HD and designs accounting for cumulative and time-dependent effects of stimulation in early-phase neuromodulation studies.

Indexed as

dorsolateral prefrontal cortexevent-related potentialsfrontostriatal networksHuntington’s diseaseintermittent theta burst stimulationneuromodulationproof-of-concept studytranscranial magnetic stimulation

Identifiers

PMID42534771
PMCPMC13422222

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