Theta Burst Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Auditory Verbal Hallucinations: Negative Findings From a Double-Blind-Randomized Trial

摘要

Background.Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) in schizophrenia are resistant to antipsychotic medication in approximately 25% of patients. Treatment with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for refractory AVH has shown varying results. A stimulation protocol using continuous theta burst rTMS (TB-rTMS) showed high efficacy in open label studies. We tested TB-rTMS as a treatment strategy for refractory AVH in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.